Dundee United boss Micky Mellon says “it’s all to play for” as the Tangerines moved a step closer to Hampden with a 1-0 Scottish Cup win at Forfar last night.
Peter Pawlett’s second-half strike saw off the League One basement boys to set up an all-Premiership quarter-final against the winner of today’s clash between Aberdeen and Livingston.
They weren’t at their best at Station Park but United are now just 90 minutes away from a semi-final at the national stadium, much to the delight of gaffer Mellon.
‘It’s incredible to be just 90 minutes from Hampden’
“We came to do a professional job and make sure we got through to the next round,” he said.
“We’re into the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup and that sounds good.
Quarter final bound 🏆🙌 pic.twitter.com/Bl7pMPjUBa
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 16, 2021
“It’s incredible to be just 90 minutes from Hampden.
“For us, it’s what Dundee United should be all about, contesting cup ties in the latter stages and that’s what we’ve always said we wanted to build back towards.
“I’m not bothered who we get, it’s all to play for isn’t it?
“It’ll be a massive quarter final between two Premiership teams.
“It’ll be a brilliant tie and one we’re really looking forward to. It’s just a pity it’s not going to have a crowd.”
Benjamin Siegrist was due to start in goal for United but was replaced by Deniz Mehmet after hurting his hand in the warm up.
Mellon revealed the Swiss keeper will require a scan to determine the severity of the injury.
“He’ll have to go for a scan. He’s injured his hand in the warm up, enough not to play, so he’s in a lot of pain.
“We’ll see what happens over the next 24 hours.”
Forfar gaffer Irvine hoping to build on performance headed into do-or-die League One run-in
Interim Loons boss Gary Irvine praised his team for their performance against, expressing his pride at the effort his players showed as they head into an end-of-season relegation dogfight.
“There’s loads of positives to take from the performance going into the final five fixtures,” the defender said.
“We knew it was going to be tough because Dundee Untied are a good side and off the back of a very busy fixture list for us as well.
“The effort and what we brought to the game was massive. It’s something we need to build on now.”