Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has lauded loan star Emmanuel Adegboyega for learning the lessons of his quickfire debut against Ross County.
While he grew into that contest in Dingwall, the Irish youngster seemed to be initially caught out by the intensity and pace of the game in the Premiership, with a couple of slack moments leading to Staggies opportunities.
However, the 20-year-old was faultless against St Mirren on Sunday.
Adegboyega sought to play out from the back at the right moments but, when danger loomed, he took a safety-first approach and was not shy about shelling the ball into touch when the situation demanded it.
Alongside the equally impressive Declan Gallagher and goal-scorer Ross Graham, it was comfortably United’s best collective showing at the back all season as they racked up just a second competitive clean sheet.
“Manny (Adegboyega) took about 20 minutes up in Dingwall to get used to the pace of the game,” recalled Goodwin.
“But we have asked him to be a good defender first and foremost. These guys that come through at the big clubs down south are taught to play a certain way and it is total football.
“You can get away with that at U/21s and reserve football but, when you are playing with the big boys, you don’t. Every mistake you make tends to get punished.
“I thought he was outstanding against St Mirren. There were some real learnings from that performance up in Dingwall.”
Resilience
Goodwin also reserved praise for debutant Luca Stephenson, who was pitched straight into the action a couple of days after joining on loan from Liverpool.
He, along with Will Ferry on the other side, manfully blocked crosses and ensured the latter stages did not become a bombardment from the wings.
“The whole back five were outstanding, even in the wide areas,” continued Goodwin. “We stopped a lot of crosses coming into the box, because they have real quality with (Scott) Tanser and (Shaun) Rooney.
“And I thought Will and Luca both prevented several opportunities for St Mirren.
“The clean sheet is massive, and it could have been more comfortable if the ball had fallen the right side of the crossbar for us.”
Goodwin added: “The resilience is something that people will talk about.”
Goodwin: ‘We must take confidence’
United, who will face Motherwell in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup next month, will swiftly turn their attention to Saturday’s crucial Premiership visit of St Johnstone, seeking to build upon successive draws on their return to the top-flight.
“The pleasing thing for me is that is we’ve played Dundee and St Mirren in recent weeks,” added Goodwin. “They were two deserved top six teams last season – so we have to take a lot of confidence and hope from that.”
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