Dundee United 0 St Mirren 0: Few arguing with Houston's description of 'brutal' match
Describing this contest as 'brutal' — as manager Peter Houston did afterwards — was probably still even charitable after Dundee United's third draw of the season with St Mirren.
- Published in the Courier : 20.02.12
- Published online : 20.02.12 @ 10.00am
At a Tannadice battered by intermittent showers of sleet, the lack of creative spark and, therefore, entertainment, made for a thoroughly miserable afternoon for the six thousand-plus supporters who attended.
Coming off the back of last weekend's five-goal demolition of St Johnstone — and having heard St Mirren roundly lauded for their brand of flowing football under Danny Lennon — expectations were high.
But for whatever reason — be it the conditions or the fact the Buddies seemed intent on not losing — there were precious few goalscoring chances created by either side.
United's main chance of the match fell to Gavin Gunning and Jon Daly in the first half but the former's header back across goal — which may have been the wrong decision as he had a chance to score himself — just narrowly evaded the Irish striker.
Johnny Russell coaxed a good save from St Mirren keeper Craig Samson towards the end and for the Buddies substitute Nigel Hasselbaink could have turned the ball home in the final few minutes but could not connect.
Neither side deserved to win the contest and United defender Robbie Neilson admits it was as boring to play in as it was to watch.
"It wasn't great," he said. "Everyone was just counting the clock down. Neither of us didn't create many chances which is disappointing for us.
"We had played well in the last two games but it seems to be we struggle at home. I am not sure what the problem is but we do better on the road.
"If it was me, I probably would have left with half an hour to go."
His manager said: "I would describe the match as brutal. We didn't create enough to win and I thought a draw was the fair result if I'm being honest.
"The goalkeepers didn't need their gloves today. I was happy with the back four and it was a good clean sheet but from middle to front I think we have better quality than that."
Houston felt his men should have adopted a more direct approach, especially after the previous week's high-scoring rout.
He added: "We didn't show any quality today. We wanted five or six passes before putting it in the box. I always say to them to put it in there as we have Jon Daly and Johnny Russell to aim for.
"We saw last week against St Johnstone when we put the ball in the box they both scored headers. I think it was a disappointing performance from us today and after two good away results we wanted to build a bit of momentum at home. On today's performance we have a bit of work to do."
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