Jim Goodwin was bursting with pride after watching Dundee United claim a gutsy, dramatic 1-0 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The Tangerines went down to 10 men for a second successive week after substitute Jordan Tillson received two bookings in the space of four minutes at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
However, United dug deep and claimed a memorable winner deep into stoppage time, with Chris Mochrie scrambling home the ugliest goal that he’s ever likely to score; not that he’ll care a jot.
The breathless triumph sends the Terrors — unbeaten in nine games, with seven wins in that time — back to the top of the Championship.
United boss Goodwin said: “There was a really strong character shown at the end from my players. With 10 minutes to go, you’re probably thinking 0-0 is not a terrible result.
“So, for us to go and nick the winner like we did is full credit to the team.
“Playing the last half-hour with a man less is very difficult. We showed resilience, togetherness and team spirit. That’s what pleases me the most.
“Managers talk about pride a little bit too often in the modern-day game — but today I’m very proud of my players and delighted they could grind out a really important result.”
Louis Moult precaution
As well as their numerical disadvantage, United also grabbed the victory without talismanic marksman Louis Moult, who limped off in the first period with a groin complaint.
Offering an update, Goodwin said: “Hopefully we’ve taken him off early enough so that there’s not any serious damage.
“It’s a disappointing one, but I’m very lucky as a manager to have someone of the experience of Tony Watt to call upon.
“I thought Tony did really well for us. He’s just missing that goal to bring him a little bit of confidence. He got into some really good areas playing as the No.9, held the ball up well — particularly when we were down to 10 men — and got us up the pitch.”
While United lost Moult to injury, they welcomed skipper Ross Docherty back into the starting line-up for the first time since August 26.
Goodwin explained: “In hindsight, that was a calculated risk on our part, given how influential he is. He’s our captain, our leader.”
Tillson red card verdict
Tillson’s quick-fire dismissal came just nine minutes after he entered the fray to replace Declan Glass, with the on-loan Ross County man given his marching orders from referee Calum Scott for a foul on Charlie Gilmour.
Goodwin added: “Jordan, in hindsight, shouldn’t put himself in that situation but, at the same time, I didn’t think there was a great deal in it.
“I do think the reaction of the Inverness player (Gilmour), similar to last week (with Morton’s Calum Waters), was disappointing. That’s what makes the referee think it was worse than what it was, on both occasions.”
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