‘TIS THE season of goodwill to all men, but Dundee United and Inverness took that sentiment to extremes on Saturday.
Christmas came early for the Terrors as slack defending allowed them to race into a 3-0 lead, although United returned the favour in kind by letting Caley come back to make it 4-3.
The giving didn’t stop there though as referee John Beaton gifted United the chance to claim a point from the penalty spot in the 92nd minute, with Jon Daly on hand to wrap up a truly amazing game at Tannadice.
United defender Barry Douglas summed it up perfectly afterwards.
“I don’t know just what happened,” he said.
“I think the game should have been wrapped up when we went 3-0 up in the early stages, but two stupid goals allowed them back into the game.
“I wouldn’t say we were fortunate to get a point but we made it hard for ourselves.
“I think any team that goes 3-0 ahead, you don’t want to be letting teams back into it.
“That’s down to ourselves the way we defended corners but we shouldn’t be letting teams back into games.
“We’ve just scored four and still not won, but we had to keep going right to the end and thankfully it paid off.
“I think we’re just frustrated we didn’t get the win, especially after a great start.”
Buoyed by their derby victory a week previously, United kept faith with the same side who recorded the 3-0 success over their nearest rivals, while Caley did likewise following their Scottish Cup win over Ross County in midweek.
And the home side continued where they left off last weekend although they wouldn’t have dreamed of being 3-0 up by the eighth minute.
The opener came in the fifth minute when Douglas’s cross from the left found Daly in space six yards out.
Daly failed to connect properly with the ball, but his mishit took it into the path of Caley defender Josh Meekings who could only bundle the ball over the line.
Less than a minute later it was 2-0, thanks to a horrendous mix-up in the visiting defence.
There seemed little danger as Graeme Shinnie called on keeper Antonio Reguero to come out and collect a through ball but, with the keeper not forthcoming, the Caley captain decided to try and clear himself.
Unfortunately for Shinnie however, Daly was right behind him and the ball cannoned off the onrushing striker and into the net.
Caley were unquestionably shell-shocked and incredibly they fell even further behind in the eighth minute as Stuart Armstrong was given far too much room to thread the ball through to Rudi Skacel, and the former Hearts forward slotted past Reguero to score his first goal for United.
It looked like game over at that point, and United appeared free to express themselves.
John Rankin forced Reguero into a save from 20 yards out in the 17th minute, before Gavin Gunning headed just over following Keith Watson’s flick on a minute later.
Inverness had to wait until the 25th minute for their first meaningful attempt, when Andrew Shinnie’s drive was tipped over by Rado Cierzniak, but they only had to wait another minute to reduce the deficit.
Prolific striker Billy McKay did the honours with a deft header from close range, netting after Richie Foran had volleyed Shinnie’s corner goalwards.
And just seconds after the restart, Caley found themselves right back in the game.
Aaron Doran’s corner from the left wasn’t properly dealt with and McKay got enough on his header to beat Cierzniak and make it 3-2.
It was United’s turn to be stunned, but they were able to steady the ship and had two chances in the 36th minute firstly through Armstrong who looped a shot over, and then through Skacel who fired off target after being set up by McLean.
Three minutes before the break, fortune almost favoured United again as Skacel’s wild cross from the left almost sneaked in at the back post, before United’s number 51 fired past the post after being played in by Armstrong.
It was all made for an intriguing second half, and the home team almost restored a two-goal advantage in the 59th minute when Caley defender Gary Warren very nearly turned Daly’s low cross into his own net, with Reguero doing brilliantly to keep the ball out.
As it turned out though, Caley drew level two minutes later.
Willo Flood’s push on Ross Draper in the box saw referee John Beaton point to the penalty spot and brandish a yellow card, and McKay on his hat-trick stepped up to send Cierzniak the wrong way.
The way the game had gone, either side probably thought they could win it in the latter stages and Caley almost got their noses in front with five minutes to go, with Cierzniak doing well to save an Owain Tudur-Jones’s header from GraemeShinnie’s corner.
A minute later, however, the keeper was picking the ball out of the net as Caley’s remarkable turnaround was complete.
Graeme Shinnie’s left-footed cross was met by Warren 12 yards out and his looping header beat Cierzniak and went in off the post.
United almost replied seconds later when Daly saw a shot saved by Reguero from point blank range, and it looked as if time had run out for Peter Houston’s men.
But with the clock ticking into stoppage time, Richie Foran handled in the area and referee Beaton awarded his second penalty of the afternoon.
Daly was the man charged with converting the spot kick and he duly did, ending a truly incredible game at Tannadice.
“It feels like a defeat if I’m being honest,” United boss Houston concluded.
“When you are 3-0 up after eight minutes at home you should expect to win the match.
“I’m only pleased that we got a penalty kick in the last minute to get us something from the match, but when you score four goals at home you should win matches.
“The players are as frustrated as I am, and annoyed with each other.
“That’s what you expect because they are an honest bunch of guys.
“But Inverness will be a lot happier than us.
“There were loads of things that frustrated me and disappointed me, but in the same hand there’s loads of stuff in the attacking sense that I thought we were sensational at times.”
Caley boss Terry Butcher described the 92 minutes as “absolutely incredible”.
He added: “After eight minutes I’m thinking the run’s over, the game plan that we had was gone and we had to change things around.
“We could easily have been more than three goals down and it was a blistering start from United, but we’ve compounded it by throwing in some goals as well.
“The fans next to me after eight minutes were singing ‘We’re going to win 4-3’, and I’m thinking they had been on the vodka or something.
“But then we get to 4-3 and you think ‘Wow, this is fairytale stuff’, and then the referee gives a penalty so there’s not much we can do about that.
“In the end we’re disappointed only to draw the game.
“But that is one of the best games you’ll ever see.”
csmith@thecourier,co.uk