Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee United fans in ‘Asghar Out’ protest as timid Tangerines go bottom with Kilmarnock defeat

The Asghar out banner unveiled at Rugby Park.
A banner unveiled at Rugby Park the night after the transfer window closed. Image: SNS

Dundee United fans vented their fury towards Tannadice sporting director Tony Asghar as the Tangerines crashed to the foot of the Premiership with a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock.

Dan Armstrong settled the relegation six-pointer at Rugby Park, lashing home a sensational drive in the first period.

United, out of sorts throughout, were left to rue Steven Fletcher’s missed penalty, which could have given the visitors a precious lead.

Courier Sport was in Ayrshire as Asghar was put under the microscope following a transfer window to forget.

‘Asghar Out’

The overwhelming dissatisfaction regarding United’s damp squib of a deadline day spilled from social media to the stands.

A large banner reading “Asghar Out” was unveiled by a section of the travelling support.

The Tangerines allowed striker Tony Watt to join Premiership rivals St Mirren on loan, while failing to secure attacking reinforcements.

It leaves 16-year-old Rory MacLeod and unproven Ugandan Sadat Anaku as the only deputies to Fletcher.

While promising centre-half Loick Ayina arrived from Huddersfield, it did little to placate many supporters following a window that saw a swathe of players exit on loan.

The problem was underlined as head coach Liam Fox chased the game in the second period.

Three of United’s four attack-minded substitutes — MacLeod, Anaku and Mathew Cudjoe — are yet to score a goal in Scottish football.

Allied with losing Lewis Neilson to Hearts for zero compensation, the disastrous appointment of Jack Ross and the current fraught fight against the drop, Asghar is being scrutinised.

Will the fans’ fury be addressed? Time will tell.

As the game approached its conclusion, audible chants of “Asghar, get to ****” were audible from the away section.

Penalty pain

Killie dominated the opening exchanges in the driving Ayrshire rain.

Kyle Vassell fired over the bar following some super work on the flank by Armstrong.

Mark Birighitti then made a sensational point-blank stop to thwart Rory McKenzie after he was slipped through by Vassell.

Yet, it was United who had the best opportunity to grab the lead.

Fletcher is thwarted from the spot. Image: SNS

Scott McMann, shifted to left wing-back in the absence of the injured Aziz Behich, skipped past Armstrong in the box and was tugged back by the winger; his sole mis-step in a marvellous performance.

However, Fletcher saw his spot-kick well saved by Sam Walker, albeit the effort was at a nice height for the Rugby Park stopper.

One moment of real quality

The deadlock was broken courtesy of the first moment of true quality in the contest.

New signing Luke Chambers fizzed a low cross to the edge of the box, allowing Armstrong to thunder home a stunning left-footed finish into the roof of Birighitti’s net.

Armstrong lashes home a screamer
Armstrong lashes home a screamer. Image: SNS

A heady mix of power and precision — and a crucial moment in the relegation battle.

Wind in their sails, Liam Polworth lashed a ferocious drive inches over the bar before Ryan Alebiosu saw a goal-bound effort blocked on the line amid an almighty penalty-box stramash.

While the antipathy among the travelling fans was not quite reflected on the pitch, there were a few mumps and moans; Glenn Middleton, Liam Smith and Fletcher were among the visibly frustrated men in black as the performance simply failed to click.

That sinking feeling

After the break, Vassell dallied too long after being sent clean through by a long ball, allowing Charlie Mulgrew to make a pivotal challenge.

Armstrong whipped a free-kick narrowly over the bar from 25 yards, before another ferocious shot whipped off-target.

United didn’t have a clue how to shackle him.

Dundee United boss Liam Fox
Fox is left with much to ponder. Image: SNS

Christian Doidge fired woefully high and wide when presented with a golden opportunity and Birighitti made another fine block from Rory McKenzie.

Kilmarnock were the better side and United could have been more comprehensively swept aside.

A late rally saw Middleton volley wide, Fletcher curl a shot off target and the bright MacLeod fizz a low drive inches wide.

Too little, too late,

United now find themselves bottom of the Premiership again; the good work immediately following the World Cup hiatus now feeling like a long time ago and fan dissatisfaction clear.

Conversation