Dundee saw their impressive unbeaten pre-season run come to an end at the hands of stylish Sheffield United in their Bramall Lane friendly.
Paul Hartley’s Scottish Premiership new boys were aiming to avoid defeat in their final friendly before next weekend’s League Cup clash with Peterhead, having looked the part in their four previous outings.
But Nigel Clough’s League One side denied them that undefeated streak going into the competitive stuff, which was no disgrace in the end against his impressive United outfit.
German star Luka Tankulic levelled for the Dens Park men midway through the first-half before a second-half collapse saw them lose three quickfire goals, which meant the Blades ran out comfortable winners, despite Thomas Konrad’s late consolation strike.
Hartley, though, insisted he was still more than pleased with certain aspects of his side’s play, especially in the first half.
“I thought we were excellent in the first half,” he said.
“We passed the ball well and it was as good as we’ve performed in the whole of pre-season.
“But mistakes cost us. They didn’t have too hard to work for their goals which was the disappointing thing. It was a great goal from Luka again. He looks a real find and is a genuine threat.
“He’ll be judged when the real stuff gets under way obviously, but the signs are promising.
“We’re pleased with the way things are going and we’re looking forward to the start of things against Peterhead in the League Cup next weekend.”
The English outfit had their share of Scottish stars in the team with ex-Queen of the South ace Bob Harris at full-back, former Dumbarton stopper Neill Collins at the heart of their defence, while former Motherwell man Jamie Murphy was leading their attack.
Stefan Scougall, the former Livingston midfielder, was also in the line-up to give the home team extra attacking options.
Tankulic, who came off the bench against Hearts to hit a double earlier in the week, started up front in the hope of handing the Taysiders another morale-boosting result.
Paul McGowan had an early effort for the visitors as he watched the Blades keeper save his shot from distance.
But it was the English side who drew first blood as they stormed into an eighth minute lead. A slack piece of play from Kyle Benedictus was pounced upon by the home team who wasted no time in making the Dundee defender pay for his slip.
Jose Baxter slipped the ball to Murphy who made space for himself inside the box, before sweeping a left-foot shot low into Kyle Letheren’s far corner.
A few minutes later, the home team almost added to their lead, with Chris Basham bringing out a fine save from Letheren from just outside the penalty area.
Letheren was called into action again on 22 minutes and once more he had to look lively between the sticks.
This time Jamal Campbell-Ryce unleashed a powerful 25-yard shot which was net-bound all the way until Welshman Letheren denied him with a fine diving save to his left.
However, on 25 minutes Dundee equalised in style.
Tankulic latched on to a pass from Willie Dyer and the classy German showed what he’s all about by turning neatly just outside the penalty box, before beating Howard with an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net.
Already former Fortuna Dusseldorf ace Tankulic is becoming a fans’ favourite,
having netted twice against the Jambos a few days earlier, so this latest strike was another one to savour for the band of visiting fans.
Dundee made a handful of changes after the break but it was the Blades who went back into the lead on 50 minutes.
Harris’s whipped cross wasn’t properly cleared by the Dundee defence, and Basham was on hand to keep his head down and lash a shot past the helpless Letheren from 12 yards.
Sheffield United struck again on 64 minutes through Jose Baxter after Letheren made his first mistake of the night with his hashed clearance.
Basham was the grateful recipient as he simply rolled the ball into the path of Baxter, who made no mistake with his crisp 10-yard finish low into the net.
Then, in 67 minutes, substitute Marc McNulty made it 4-1 with a close-range strike, bundling the ball over the line after the Dark Blues had failed to deal with a corner.
It was tough on Dundee who’d given a decent account of themselves before the break, although Konrad did pull one back in 84 minutes when he forced home substitute Greg Stewart’s corner.
Clough praised Dundee for their part in an entertaining friendly.
He said: “It thought it was a really good game.
“We played some decent stuff and Dundee deserve credit too for the way they passed the ball around. They could have a good season.”