Hamilton 2
Dundee Utd 3
League (Premiership)

Match Report

With the wind swirling around New Douglas Park, both sides were looking to claim a victory that would keep them on the tails of league leaders, Aberdeen. This Monday night match was live on TV and there were a number of scouts in the stand keeping tabs on the young talent on show for both sides. Accies were playing their first game without Alex Neil in charge following his move to Norwich City.

Their was little action in the opening 37 minutes until Armstrong provided a moment of real quality to give United the lead. The under-21 international collected the ball in the Accies half and following a neat turn, drive towards the Hamilton defence. With defender backing off, Stuart Armstrong fired in a rocket that flew beyond Michael McGovern from 22 yards. United looked comfortable from this point through to half-time but did not threaten further.

As United have been doing recently, the made a quick start to the second half. Just 21 seconds in, they doubled their lead. Armstrong threaded a through ball behind the Hamilton defence for Gary Mackay-Steven, coolly slotted the ball low past McGovern after bringing the ball under control. Just as looked liked United were going to stroll comfortably to victory, Accies were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. Their Spanish defender, Jesus Garcia Tena stepped up to curl a wonderful effort over the wall and into the net. Accies went onto level the match with 20 minutes remaining. Tony Andreu split the defence with a great ball to Ali Crawford and after an initial block, the midfielder looped the ball into the net on the rebound. At that point it looked like it would be the home team that would steal the points, that was until United captain Dillon came to the rescue. A corner whipped to the far post found Seán Dillon completely unmarked and the Irishman powered home a header from 10 yards.

Manager's Comment:
“We do it the hard way. We put our fans through the mill with the way some of our games go. I thought we were the better team the first half and then when we got the second goal after half time we looked so comfortable. Their was nothing we could about the free kick they scored. Then we lost our way a little bit and they got a second when their tails were up. I was happy with the way we came back again and great to see Dillon get his head on it to get the three points for us."

Fan's Comment:
“Like recent weeks we managed to turn what should have been a very comfortable victory into a real nail biter. Two up and cruising, the loss of a goal seemed to shake the confidence of the team - and not for the first time. Taking the positives, we are unbeaten in 2015, have scored 11 goals in three games and the likes of Armstrong and Mackay-Steven are finally getting back to top form. Getting Morris back in the side will be a huge boost from a defensive perspective, this can't come quick enough.”