Dundee United manager Ray McKinnon believes matchwinner Tony Andreu is “worth his weight in gold.”
The Frenchman scored two priceless goals for the Tangerines on Saturday as they beat Greenock Morton 2-1 in the Championship at Tannadice.
The value of the victory was sky-high, coming as it did with the club at a low ebb following back-to-back defeats from Falkirk in the league and the Cappielow club in the Betfred Cup quarter-final.
Andreu, who was returning from a rib injury, found the net in the 64th and 91st minutes to earn McKinnon’s men three precious points, with United sub Sean Dillon adding an own goal four minutes into stoppage time to complete the scoring.
It certainly wasn’t the greatest of games but the final whistle brought cheer to the United fans after a difficult few days and gave them some heart ahead of Sunday’s tricky trip to Easter Road to play Hibs.
McKinnon stressed: “It was all about getting the three points.
“I thought it was important that we did that, especially after losing to Falkirk so late in the game last Saturday.
“We also had so many injuries so it was all about the three points and I’m delighted we got them.
“I was disappointed to lose that late goal but the win was so important for the guys.
“Well done to all the boys for getting that result.
“So we are all happy and looking forward to the game on Sunday.”
Asked about the crucial contribution of man-of-the-match Andreu, the United boss added: “He is worth his weight in gold, to be honest.
“I am delighted with him.
“We had to play him in a deeper role this time simply because we didn’t have the personnel.
“He still popped up with a goal from deep and then scored again when he was further up the park.
“I just need to get him into his right area because we have only been able to do that in a couple of games.
“We want him high up the park.
“We still have to figure out what the pairing is up top and that’s still a conundrum that we have.”
As McKinnon stressed, United had to do one thing and one thing only on Saturday – win the match.
They made three changes to the side that started at Cappielow in the cup.
Andreu, Mark Durnan and Simon Murray came in, while Stewart Murdoch was out through injury, and Scott Fraser and Tope Obadeyi both dropped to the bench.
There were a few positional changes, too, with Frank van der Struijk moving to right-back and Lewis Toshney going forward into midfield in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Cammy Smith dropped back into the middle after playing striker on Tuesday, with Murray taking on his usual front role.
On 17 minutes, United had a great chance to take the lead after Smith played in Andreu. The Frenchman only had keeper Andrew McNeil to beat but he couldn’t do so and a fine save was made from point-blank range.
On 34 minutes, Murray went down in the box after a challenge by Mark Russell but referee Barry Cook waved play on.
Three minutes later, the visitors came closest to taking the lead when they hit the post.
It was Aiden Nesbitt’s strike that struck United goalie Cammy Bell’s left-hand upright then Thomas O’Ware hit the rebound over the bar.
Much to the relief of most who were watching, a thoroughly dull first half finally came to an end and the players could think about doing better after the break.
McKinnon altered things in attack at half-time, with Murray moving left and Nick van der Velden going up top.
On 51 minutes, United launched a decent attack which ended with Blair Spittal’s angled drive being well saved by McNeil.
The same player fired wide after a run from Durnan created an opportunity just two minutes later then Paul Dixon tries his luck from 30 yards only for his vicious shot to get blocked.
Durnan headed on to the roof of the Morton net from the back post after being found by a Spittal freekick before the former Queen’s Park player made way for Obadeyi on 62 minutes.
It had been a long time coming but United finally got the breakthrough a couple of minutes later.
The ball came over from the left from Dixon and was then deflected across to Obadeyi on the right.
The former Kilmarnock man, who was unmarked, took a touch before sending a chipped cross to Andreu, whose shot from 15 yards was pushed back into the net by McNeil.
The Tangerines brought on Fraser for Smith on 76 minutes and Dillon for Van der Velden with five to go.
There were still some pretty nervy moments for United but all the worries and doubts disappeared one minute into stoppage time when Andreu latched on to a flick from Murray before running on and beating McNeil.
Morton grabbed a consolation goal four minutes into injury-time when a Ross Forbes freekick made it into the net off United’s Dillon but the Tangerines held on.
The visitors’ manager Jim Duffy claimed the defeat was a “travesty” after his players put in so much effort.
He claimed: “I’m gutted. I don’t think we deserved to lose.
“It’s a travesty, if truth be told.
“Andreu is a terrific player, take nothing away from him, but I think United had one chance.
“We were on the front foot and my players gave absolutely everything.
“We didn’t get many breaks and one or two decisions went against us. The referee was not too kind to us.
“We were the better side in the first half and we never looked like losing a goal in the second half.
“We deserved more from the game.”
