UNITED OUTSMART AND OUTFIGHT DUNDEE

United leapt above their extremely bitter rivals yesterday. A battling display earned the Tangerines a thoroughly deserved, and much desired three points over at Dens Park.

It was by all accounts a cracking atmosphere, marred only by the fact that Dundee had failed to sell around 600 of their home allocation and denying a sell-out occasion, but still the biggest they’ve seen all season at 11 263.

The first half remained goalless, but a Mark Wilson free kick on 52 minutes broke the deadlock. It was just outside the 18 yard box, 8 or so yards to the left, and he just dinked it in towards the penalty spot, two Dundee defenders lunged at the ball, both missing, and the ball bounced uninterrupted into a grateful net, sending the Arabs mental.

We thought our usual derby luck was in when on 64 minutes young defender Gary Kenneth was judged to have felled Steve Lovell in the box. Lovell converted the resulting spot kick and it was 1-1.

United rallied however, and Jason Scotland once again came on as sub, and again changed the outcome of the game, getting a low cross in for McIntyre to nudge home, from only a couple of feet out. The ball looked to have arrived behind McIntyre, and he did well to drag the ball goalwards. 2-1 it finished and we leapfrog Dundee in the SPL. Match report here.

It was only four weeks ago we were 4 places, and six points, behind Dundee and their safety looked almost guaranteed, while we rested on the bottom, two points adrift of Livi. For a complete table dated 2^nd April click here – it’s a quite amazing fightback when you consider the team’s we’ve taken points from. Two of our relegation rivals and two at the top – one going for the league and the other for Europe.

We have now picked up 10 points out of a possible 12, and this spurt of form has seen us shift up to to ninth, overtaking Livi, Dundee and Dunfermline in the process. We could be mathematically safe if, and it’s a big IF, we can beat Kilmarnock next week and Dundee beat Dunfermline. Six points from any of our last three games (Killie home, Pars home, ICT away) would guarantee safety anyway – it IS in our own hands. We have a cup final to look forward to the week after our last game in the league and it would be difficult to enjoy the day if we’d let out current form slip and gotten ourselves de-SPL’d (I hate the ‘r’ word). I’m confident and hopeful we won’t now, but the upcoming three games are all big games – even the last if we are safe, to applaud the team if nothing else before we to go to Hampden.

So, Kilmarnock next week. Who’s marking Kris Boyd?