Dundee United discovered that nothing goes your way when you are at the bottom after they were denied a crucial win over St Mirren.
United swept into a deserved half-time lead and looked to be cruising towards a critical three points before controversy struck.
And once again VAR and the match officials took centre stage in a penalty call that could have a huge bearing on United’s season.
United remain 12th after Saturday’s 1-1 draw and Courier Sport was at Tannadice to witness the controversy.
Here are three talking points from the game:
Jim Goodwin right to rage at VAR call
Manager Jim Goodwin gives his thoughts to DUTV after this afternoon's 1-1 draw with St Mirren #cinchPrem | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/Id9FhdJL3b
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) March 18, 2023
Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin chose his words very carefully at full-time.
Goodwin made direct and measured rebuttal of the decision to award a penalty for Loick Ayina’s challenge on Curtis Main.
With the caveat that he was working off the camera angles at his disposal, Goodwin was adamant that it was a very soft award by referee Craig Napier.
The fact that the decision was then ratified after several minutes of a VAR review caused even more consternation.
▶️ A late penalty earned St Mirren a draw to extend bottom club Dundee United's winless run to 10 Scottish Premiership games 🔽 pic.twitter.com/y7GyYWfUI8
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 18, 2023
BBC Sportscene pundits Richard Foster and Neil McCann were in agreement with Goodwin. Foster even accused Main of ‘cheating’.
The anger should be centred around VAR.
It was introduced to try and eliminate decisions like this and these two dropped points could cost United their place in the Scottish Premiership.
Why did the decision take so long to be ratified by VAR?
What did the officials Napier and VAR Colin Steven see that led to the penalty call? Did they have other angles that offer a clear view of a foul?
Who decided it wasn’t necessary for Napier to review the decision on the monitor?
Ryan Edwards return
It was a big call from Goodwin to drop skipper Edwards from his starting line-up against Livingston last time out.
Edwards almost played every single game for United last term, only missing out to be at the birth of his daughter.
And it’s very unusual to see a captain benched.
But after his mistakes against Aberdeen, Edwards was axed after a one-to-one with Goodwin.
The response from Edwards on Saturday was superb.
He looked calm and composed throughout and made a goal-line saving clearance to deny Mark O’Hara.
Slick Steven Fletcher
Steven Fletcher’s stunning opener was a thing of beauty.
The experienced striker played head tennis with St Mirren defender Richard Taylor before bringing the ball under control.
Fletch flicked the ball from his right boot to his left and drilled into the bottom corner from 18 yards.
It was a top class finish from a player who has led from the front all season.
It was also nice to see Peter Pawlett start his second game of the season.
Pawlett went off late on, as a precautionary measure, but could be a key player for United in the run-in.
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