Dundee United broke their scoring duck but they couldn’t avoid a fifth straight defeat at home to Hibernian.
A controversial Kevin Nisbet opener and second half strike from Chris Cadden helped put Hibs 2-0 up.
United were forced to see the game out with ten men after losing Charlie Mulgrew to injury.
They ended a run of 491 minute run without a goal with a late Declan Glass effort.
But sub Jamie Murphy clinched a 3-1 win for Hibs and dumped Dundee United down to 7th place.
The @dundeeunitedfc players take the field to warm-up for the @HibernianFC match.
Follow @thecouriersport for all post-match analysis & interviews pic.twitter.com/7Jb97eMiKq
— Ewan Smith (@ewansmithpr) December 26, 2021
United played this game in front of just 500 fans as the new Covid restrictions came into force.
But fair play to the United fans who were at a rain-swept Tannadice.
They did their best to create an atmosphere, singing throughout the first half.
And the fans paid a fitting tribute to legendary owner Jim McLean on the first anniversary of his passing.
Banners celebrating McLean adorned the seats of the Eddie Thompson stand.
McLean passed away on Boxing Day 2020 and will be forever ingrained in the club’s history.
And he would have been proud to see no fewer than NINE academy graduates in the United squad for the visit of Hibernian.
Dundee United fall behind to controversial Hibernian opener
The opening 38 minutes was a non-event but it burst into life as Hibernian controversially took the lead.
Chris Cadden’s volley was headed clear by Scott McMann but only as far as Martin Boyle.
Boyle’s strike was diverted into the net by Nisbet, prompting a furious reaction from home side.
United keeper Benjamin Siegrist raced towards standside linesman David Roome claiming he was AHEAD of Nisbet when he struck.
United brought on Ilmari Niskanen for Kieran Freeman at the break and pressed for a leveller.
46' | United get the action back up and running for the second half
🟠 0️⃣-1️⃣ 🟢 | #DUFCLive
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) December 26, 2021
And they fell foul of another hotly-disputed decision just after the break.
Striker Nicky Clark was homing in on goal when his feet were swept away by Paul Hanlon.
Referee Willie Collum decided the challenge only merited a yellow card.
And from the resultant free-kick Clark’s low drive was turned away by Matt Macey.
At the other end, Adrian Sporle’s powerful 15 yard strike was beaten away by Macey.
Sub Logan Chalmers then flashed a long-range effort wide.
But United’s day went from bad to worse.
They went down to ten men and lost a second goal in 79 minutes.
With United having used all their subs, Mulgrew hobbled off injured.
And within seconds, Cadden fired home the clinching second strike.
Glass curled in for United before Murphy completed the scoring.
Teams for Dundee United v Hibernian
Dundee United: Siegrist, Sporle, Mulgrew, Neilson, Freeman (Niskanen 46), McMann, Harkes, Mochrie (Glass 62), Meekison, Clark, Watson (Chalmers 71). Subs: Newman; Hoti, Smith, Thomson.
Hibernian: Macey; Doig (McGregor 73), Hanlon, Porteous, Wright (Murphy 61), Stevenson, Boyle, Doyle-Hayes, Campbell, Cadden, Nisbet (Doidge 82). Subs: Dabrowski; Doidge, Hallberg, Allan, Scott
Referee Willie Collum
Nicky Clark: Player welfare must be considered when authorities aim to solve Covid problems
