Dundee United will be disappointed with the way Saturday’s game with Kilmarnock ended.
The chances were there to seal the points but only grabbing one of them leaves you open to a nasty surprise in the closing stages.
The penalty for the equaliser was soft.
I’d call it a VAR penalty, a bit like the Kevin Holt one last week.
When you examine any challenge in minute detail like that you’ll find infractions and that’s what we see with penalties like this.
United can’t control VAR, they can’t control wee moments like the one that led to the awarding of the spot-kick.
Defence
What they can control is the way they play.
And, aside from not putting the game out of sight, there is a lot right about the way they are playing right now.
I’ve written plenty about the defence but they deserve all the plaudits going.
It’s not just the three defenders but the whole team works so hard to keep the opposition out.
And they were about a minute away from earning another clean sheet.
When you do that you give your strikers the opportunity to be the hero.
Dominant Dalby
United certainly have got one of those in Sam Dalby.
Six goals in eight games is good shooting by anybody’s measure and it’s been a loan move that has benefitted everybody.
For the club, they’ve got a talented young player who has grown in stature as the season has progressed.
A regular goalscorer is such a precious commodity for any side.
Not only that he’s a big presence who gives defenders all sorts of problems.
His goal against Killie was a classic striker’s effort.
As soon as the shot is lined up from the edge of the area he’s the only one anticipating a rebound.
The defenders aren’t, he is and he gets his reward.
For him as a player, this has probably been the perfect move for him.
Surplus to requirements at Wrexham in the summer, heading to the Scottish Premiership was a great chance for him to show just how effective a striker he can be.
Teams will be lining up to take him now after the form he’s shown in tangerine.
Dalby is something of a throwback player, you don’t really get many strikers like him coming through now.
From a Dundee United point of view you just hope Wrexham aren’t taking too much notice!
Ferry
Let’s hope he can keep the run going against Motherwell this weekend.
The trip to Fir Park will be an interesting one.
It’s a game I think United can go targeting all three points.
But they’ll go there without suspended Will Ferry and that’s a blow for Jim Goodwin.
There’s not really a ready-made replacement so there may be some thinking to do in that position.
Knowing this United side that won’t throw them off their game, though.
Conversation