Jim Goodwin has shouldered a chunk the blame for Dundee United’s sluggish start against Livingston — but hailed the “aggression, commitment and desire” illustrated by the Tangerines as they rescued a point in West Lothian.
The Terrors were dire in the first period against Livi, with Steven Bradley giving the hosts a richly-merited lead and striking the cross-bar.
Despite United creating a gilt-edged opportunity — Sadat Anaku shooting wide from two yards — they were lucky to go in at the break only one goal down.
However, Goodwin’s switch to 4-2-3-1, allied with a couple of personnel changes — Liam Smith for Kieran Freeman and Kai Fotheringham for Anaku — saw a vastly improved showing after the interval.
Aziz Behich, deployed in a far more attacking role in the second period, slammed home the leveller.
“I’m satisfied we managed to get a point and end the run of defeats after a really poor start,” said Goodwin. “I’ve got to take my share of the blame for that start. The system wasn’t working.
“So we made the change in shape and I thought it worked really well. That’s credit to the players.
“They showed the exact characteristics you need in a relegation dogfight. At 1-0, lesser teams would have crumbled but the boys stuck together and got the result. I’m pleased with the level of aggression, commitment and desire.
“You need when fighting for your lives at the bottom of the table. It gives us something to build on.”
“got away with one”
Goodwin did, however, acknowledge that United may have got “away with one” following referee Matthew McDermid’s failure to send off Kieran Freeman.
Already on a booking, the young full-back clearly tugged the arm of Cristian Montano — only for McDermid to neglect to flash another yellow.
Liam Smith replaced Freeman on 33 minutes; a change that fundamentally altered the flow of the game.
“If I was the Livingston guys, I’d have been doing the same thing (calling for a red card),” he acknowledged. “I’ve seen yellow cards given in those incidences but thankfully we, potentially, got away with one.
“It was clear to us at that moment that we needed to get Kieran off the pitch. His next foul was going to lead to a second yellow.
“Liam Smith came on and was excellent.
“He has shown a really positive reaction to being left out of the team against Aberdeen. That’s exactly what we want from players coming off the bench and he is one of a number of positives for us.”
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