As the Dundee United players trudged off the Tony Macaroni Arena pitch after losing to Livingston it felt like a season-defining moment.
Livingston soared into fourth place and United dropped to sixth with a deserved 2-1 defeat to David Martindale’s side.
With just four games to go before the split, United’s top six ambitions are at a crossroads.
United CAN still claim a European spot and are just two points off fourth.
But they could also find themselves hovering just above the relegation zone with defeats in the next few games.
Courier Sport was at Livingston on Wednesday and here are three talking points as United try to get their top six hopes back on track.
Dundee United need goals
Livingston climbed up to fourth in the Scottish Premiership after a late Ryan Edwards own goal handed the Lions a deserved victory over Dundee United 📈 pic.twitter.com/qktg5Jcsgk
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 3, 2022
Dundee United have, quite rightly, received a lot of plaudits for the way they have defended this season.
Prior to the recent Rangers draw, United hadn’t lost a goal in 436 minutes.
In Benjamin Siegrist, Ryan Edwards, Charlie Mulgrew and Ross Graham they have arguably one of the most talented defences in the country.
But going forward, they have struggled to make the same impact.
Only St Johnstone (18) and Dundee (23) have scored fewer than the 24 goals United have netted this term.
For a side with European ambitions, that simply isn’t good enough.
United did go several months without the injured Marc McNulty and signed the league’s top scorer – at the time – Tony Watt in January.
But while Watt has positively changed the dynamic of United attack, he’s yet to rediscover his scoring form with one goal in 11 appearances.
Watt is also injured now, which won’t help United’s cause.
Livingston star Alan Forrest would inject life into the Dundee United attack
Dundee United have been linked with a pre-contract move for Livingston star Alan Forrest.
And they saw, first hand, on Wednesday what he could bring to their attack.
Forrest brings pace, directness and creativity.
Stryjek ➡️ Montaño ➡️ Forrest!
Montaño with the threaded ball behind the backline and yesterday’s Man of the Match Alan Forrest makes no mistake, clipping the ball beyond the goalkeeper to seal the win for the Lions! 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/MmxcXWdO5J
— Livingston FC (@LiviFCOfficial) February 6, 2022
Alongside former Arbroath star Joel Nouble, he gave the United defence a torrid time and was unfortunate not to score.
Livi boss Martindale believes bigger clubs than United will want him in the summer.
But if they CAN seal a top six spot and push for Europe, that could be enough to convince him to move to Tannadice.
The race for Europe is still wide open
There are now a staggering seven clubs vying for European football.
Anyone from fourth placed Livingston to Aberdeen in tenth could yet claim a European berth behind the Old Firm and Hearts.
This one will go down to the wire.
A win can catapult you into contention, defeat can put your season on the brink of failure.
With Hearts the next visitors to Tannadice on Saturday, United simply MUST find the winning formula before it is too late.
