Dundee United’s survival charge continues to gather momentum following a third successive Premiership victory.
Goals from Jamie McGrath and the outstanding Steven Fletcher secured a 2-0 triumph over Livingston, who missed out on a place in the top six as a result.
And Courier Sport was at Tannadice to analyse the talking points from a fine afternoon for the revitalised hosts.
A 13-day turnaround
Ross County’s impressive 2-0 victory over St Johnstone on April 8 cast a sense of foreboding over anxious Arabs.
As they lined up against Hibernian the following day, United were five points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership. Despite an upturn in performance levels, Jim Goodwin was winless after his first four games as Tannadice boss.
It would have taken a bold — perhaps foolhardy — gambler to put money on the Tangerines avoiding automatic relegation, let alone escaping the bottom two altogether.
As such, United’s 13-day resurgence has been startling.
🔼 Dundee United are now four points clear of the foot of the table as Livingston failed to reach the top six 🔽 pic.twitter.com/72zrDKegTy
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) April 22, 2023
Amid suffocating pressure, United beat Hibs. Then Motherwell away. Then Livingston.
A nine-point swing sees County now four points adrift at the bottom, while United also lead Kilmarnock by goal difference.
Indeed, the Terrors have a better goal difference than both their relegation rivals, which could feasibly prove crucial and is a notable feat, given United lost a match 9-0 this season.
Another landmark for Goodwin’s United
Goodwin is gradually busting hoodoos. A first league win since January; two or more goals in consecutive games for the first time since December 28; three successive victories for the first time since October 2021.
All achieved since his March 1 arrival.
However, he will be particularly heartened by the club’s first Premiership clean sheet since the January 2 win over St Johnstone.
It is a fitting reward for goalkeeper Mark Birighitti — much improved in recent games — and the outstanding centre-back pairing of Ayina and Mulgrew.
Allied with a combative midfield effort and crosses being blocked at source with far more regularity, the improvement has been visible, even if the Goodwin reign has still seen a few too many sloppy goals shipped.
Captain Ryan Edwards also made an impactful cameo as Livi threw caution to the wind, making two towering clearances (for context, only Ayina, Mulgrew and Craig Sibbald made more for United, and Edwards was only on the pitch for seven minutes).
Superb Freeman banishes ghosts of West Lothian
In seeking to praise individual performances, several players deserve their flowers.
Fletcher was nothing short of sensational, Ayina looks a magnificent prospect and Craig Sibbald was his usual tireless, metronomic self. Ian Harkes and Mulgrew are resurgent.
However, given his direct opponent — and the events of United’s last showdown with Livingston — Kieran Freeman deserves recognition.
The former Scotland under-21 ace was ripped asunder by Joel Nouble and Cristian Montano when the sides met in West Lothian on March 8. He should have been sent off before being withdrawn for his own good after 33 minutes.
Whereas on Saturday, with diligent support ahead of him in Ilmari Niskanen, the full-back combatted Nouble superbly. The talented powerhouse — tipped for Rangers or Celtic by his own manager recently — had a very quiet afternoon.
The StatsBomb pressure heat-map below shows the emphasis United put on pressing Livingston’s left flank. Freeman and Niskanen (14 and 26 pressures, respectively) were the trigger men for that.
Nouble won just nine of his 17 duels and, together with Montano, the duo lost possession a combined 51 times. That is a testament to the way United learned lessons and shut down a key area of danger.
The Goodwin sideline show
“I told myself I was going to be calm on the touchline on this job,” smiled Goodwin as he entered the media room following United’s victory.
It seems unlikely.
He kicked every ball, roared for every decision and was involved in a couple of feisty exchanges of opinion with the similarly passionate Davie Martindale.
The actions of managers on the touchline can sometimes be overanalysed. When a team is successful, the demeanour of a boss in his technical area is irrelevant. No-one is demanding Carlo Ancelotti unleashes his inner rage.
However, it would be fair to say Goodwin is winning over supporters with his fire and ferocity on the sideline, as well as results.
Goodwin clashed with Martindale following Ayina’s collision with Bruce Anderson, he took a booking for kicking the ball away in a bid to waste time and harangued his players with shouts of “play forward” on an almost constant loop.
And his influence is paying dividends. With dig, character and intensity, this is a United team that mirrors their manager.
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