Dundee United have given themselves a problem – and they need to sort it out fast.
Mess things up again next weekend at bottom-of-the-table Greenock Morton and we’ll be heading into full-blown crisis.
It would only be one league result but three matches in a row where United are clear favourites but fail to win will become a problem.
The major issue I see right now is the goals they conceded against Falkirk and then Queen of the South were so soft.
That’s what’s cost them in the SPFL Trust Trophy and Scottish Cup.
Reaction
Jim Goodwin was obviously very unhappy with the performance at Falkirk and expected a reaction.
The most frustrating thing is he got one.
United started like a team determined to put things right.
They got right after Queens and could easily have scored before Kai Fotheringham made it 1-0 after five minutes.
You couldn’t ask for a better start.
And the chances kept coming. And kept coming.
Going forward there really wasn’t much wrong with the Tangerines, other than the finishing touch.
It was one of those days as an attacking side where you come up against a goalie in superb form.
But they did score twice. In the end, they let what should have been a pretty comfortable cup win slip through their grasp because of slack defending.
Goals
The first Queens goal from a corner was very poor.
Goodwin bemoaned the lack of first contact on the ball into the area.
It goes beyond that into the second and third contact, though.
At every stage it looked like Queens were more determined to win that ball and it paid off for them.
The second goal could have been handled much better out wide and then again in the middle.
Championship
United’s defence has been the bedrock to their impressive start to the Championship but that bedrock has been shaky in the last two games against lower-league opposition.
No disrespect to Queens but United will come up against better sides in the Championship, no doubt.
And they just can’t afford to give away goals like they have been doing.
What I don’t think was missing was desire from the players to put things right.
We saw enough as an attacking team with the amount of chances created to make it clear the players were up for that game.
What they must do now, though, is ensure these two games are just a blip and don’t affect their league chances.
Because promotion is all that matters at the end of the day.
A Scottish Cup run would have been nice but keeping the Championship form going is far more important.
That, though, brings it’s own pressure.
A club like United is expected to win every game in the second tier.
That pressure will be ramped up after the two cup defeats.
Handling that is the biggest test now.
Conversation