Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has targeted an unbeaten fortnight as the Championship title race hots up.
The Tangerines battled back from behind to defeat Queen’s Park on Saturday afternoon, with strikes from Louis Moult, Jordan Tillson and Glenn Middleton cancelling out Ruari Paton’s opener.
With Raith Rovers claiming a fine 2-1 win at Ayr United, the Terrors remain just a point ahead of the Fifers.
However, Goodwin reckons the victory against the Spiders kicked off a potentially crucial run of five fixtures in 14 days – one more than Rovers will play – and emphasised that to his players prior to kick-off.
“Part of the pre-match talk was me saying, “if ever there was a time to put a run of results together, it’s this next fortnight”,” said Goodwin.
“We go into every game trying to pick up maximum points, but if we can go on an unbeaten run over the next couple of weeks, it gives us a great chance to stay on top of the table.”
Thomson potential
Goodwin sprung several shocks with his team selection, most notably 19-year-old Miller Thomson replacing Liam Grimshaw at right-back to make just his second ever start for the Tangerines.
“Miller is an exciting prospect,” said Goodwin. “He has a long way to go before he can establish himself as a first team regular, but I felt this was a good opportunity to give him minutes.
“How do you know if these kids are ready if you don’t give them a chance?
“We have done that with a lot of the younger players throughout the season. I see him every day in training, and he had a brilliant loan spell at Montrose in the first half of the season.
“The decision is nothing against Liam Grimshaw, who has been pivotal in his role for this team. But Miller just gives us something a little different on the front-foot and is a bit more offensive-minded.
“I thought he did well and will take a lot of learnings from the experience of being out there and playing in front of the big crowd.”
He added: “It’ll do his confidence the world of good and is another bit of positivity for our academy, and younger players; they can see that they will get opportunities if they are doing well.”
Cudjoe magic
Mathew Cudjoe also made his first start since December 22, and grasped that opportunity with a performance packed with flair and positivity.
He was replaced on the hour-mark by Middleton, who responded brilliantly to being left out of the line-up by finding the net late on.
“I thought Cudjoe started the game really well – on the front-foot and positive,” Goodwin continued. “Technically, he is one of the best players in the group, in terms of his handling of the ball.
“He is very brave and will take the ball in tight areas.
“The one concern that you have with the players who haven’t played a great deal of football is the energy level. As the game went on, it was always my intention to freshen things up around the hour-mark.”
The only downside to a satisfactory afternoon for United was the sight of David Wotherspoon limping from the field after just eight minutes.
Goodwin added: “It looks like a calf strain, so we’ll just need to wait and see. But I do think Tuesday (fixture against Airdrie) looks like it might come too soon.”
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