If anyone at Dundee United was getting ahead of themselves, Friday night’s 4-2 defeat at Falkirk will have brought them back to Earth with a bump.
Losing their unbeaten start to the season is a blow but every team loses, that’s part of the game.
It’s about dealing with that defeat and their response over the next couple of games will tell us a lot about this Dundee United side.
What worried me was the nature of the loss.
It wasn’t just a day of bad luck, missing some chances and the other side taking theirs.
United have had some shaky defensive moments at times this season but nothing on the scale we saw at Falkirk.
Being solid and very hard to score against has been the bedrock to their form so far this campaign.
But we didn’t see much of that on Friday night.
That’ll be a dent to the confidence.
Blip
Getting knocked out of the SPFL Trust Trophy isn’t the worst thing in the world.
But it’s a defeat and nobody likes that.
The worry is that dented confidence carries on into the games coming up.
Next up is a favourable fixture, though. It’s another League One opponent away in a cup competition.
However, Queen of the South are really struggling for form right now.
It’s a good chance for United to get back to their old selves, dominating the game and showing Falkirk was just a blip.
That’s the task now.
The last thing they want is another off-colour performance which then bleeds into league games beyond.
I don’t expect that to happen.
Missing men
Especially if we see Declan Gallagher back in defence and possibly Louis Moult up top.
Ross Docherty has been a big miss, too.
That’s three senior players through the spine of the team.
Jim Goodwin will have learned a lot about his fringe men on Friday.
A few of them have impressed off the bench lately but he’d have expected more at Falkirk.
It may even have him thinking about the need to strengthen his squad in January.
What is clear, however, is that United need to have their senior men in the team.
Youngsters have done well this season but they inevitably bring inconsistency.
That’s just the way it is with young players.
Kai Fotheringham
One that has bucked that trend is Kai Fotheringham.
He’ll be a big boost coming back from international duty as well.
Kai will be buzzing after making his Scotland U/21 debut in a big win over in Belgium.
His confidence will be soaring and I see him going from strength to strength from here.
Getting him back in the team will be big as well.
Goodwin called Friday a “reality check”.
I think that reality is United can’t afford to miss too many of their main men.
Get them back, it is vital the Tangerines bounce back and bounce back fast.
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