Players dig deep for McCall

Dundee United 3 0 Kilmarnock

THE firing squad must stand down for another week. For Ian McCall, this was another 90 minutes with his job hanging on the line, another stay of execution granted.

Dundee United's lowest SPL crowd of the season turned out at Tannadice yesterday unsure of what to expect, only to witness their team moving effortlessly from the bottom of the SPL table up to joint ninth, scoring three goals in a league game for the first time since May in the process.

After a nervy start, two goals from top scorer Jim McIntyre and one direct from a corner by Barry Robson were the gloss on a performance which also left their city rivals marooned at the bottom and sucked their visitors back into the relegation morass.

But there was only a hint afterwards from the manager ofhow difficult and hardworking a week it had been, after speculation following chairman Eddie Thompson branding his team's recent performances "unacceptable".

"I haven't seen my wee boy for two days so that shows it has been difficult, " McCall said. "There have been a few daft things said by people who should know better, but anyway we just concentrated totally on the game and worked our socks off. I'm not saying I have found it easy, I'm not saying I have found it hard but in football we have all got jobs to do and we responded."

His opposite number Jim Jefferies, meanwhile, who was without the injured Gary Locke and resisted the temptation to introduce French signing Michel Wolski from the bench, was left bemoaning the poor defending which led to his side's sixth game without a victory. "It is now 13 goals in four games, and we just can't defend like that and expect to win games. By the end we did well to get away with 3-0."

From the start McCall had dropped Stuart Duff and Paul Jarvie from the team that lost to Motherwell, but from the moment Steven Naismith's cross deflected off Paul Ritchie and trickled agonisingly wide of the post, some intermittent signs of panic in the Dundee United penalty box remained.

Naismith, a diminutive young striker who resembles Damien Duff or a young Simon Donnelly, found enough space to hit the byline shortly afterwards before playing in Allan Johnston, who blazed his shot over.

Naismith then came close, his close-range goalbound header being miraculously headed off the underside of the bar and away by the diving, backtracking Barry Robson. There were few complaints at the time from the Kilmarnock players, but even United fans later confessed they thought the ball had gone in.

By this point, however, the visiting side had displayed the spirit of Christmas to gift their hosts two goals. A United attack seemed to be heading parallel to the penalty box, until Grant Brebner decided to force the issue. He worked the ball on to his left foot and drove in a shot which was arrowing just wide before it took a deflection off McIntyre, and ended up into the middle of Combe's net. The Tannoy announcer seemed confused as to whose goal it was, but there was no doubt in the former Kilmarnock man's mind.

"Brebner has shot, I've run across it and it has hit me, " McIntyre said. "If you are asking me if I am claiming it then yes of course I am. He [Brebner] knows it was going wide.

McIntyre added: "We had a talk on Friday but the pressure on the manager wasn't mentioned. He [McCall] just said forget all about everything that was going on and just try to get the three points."

Within five minutes, the second present had arrived as Robson's half-hit corner escaped everyone, including Kris Boyd on the line, before depositing itself in the net.

Half-time offered Kilmarnock a chance to regroup, but within a minute of the restart the game had disappeared entirely. Mark Wilson speared over a free-kick and another smart run from McIntyre allowed him to get the slightest of touches to direct a head-flick beyond Combe.

From then on, with Stevie Murray and Craig Dargo introduced for the ineffectual Johnston and Danny Invincibile, only the heroics of the Scotland No 3 goalkeeper kept the score down. First McIntyre's snap volley produced a smart stop, then McInnes's clever pass played Robson in only for Combe to save bravely at his feet after Simon Ford had been caught in possession, before Jason Scotland's low drive whistled wide of the post.

The normally reserved Derek McInnes even had time to miss narrowly three times, firstly with a close-range header, then a clever free- kick, and a piledriver from distance which clipped the top of the bar.

McCall even had the luxury of bringing on 16-year-old Gregg Cameron - the youngest first-team player in the club's history. It was as clear a sign as any that once again he had deftly managed to avoid becoming its latest managerial statistic.

FAST FOOTBALL

Fair result? If anything, the home side deserved more goals. A two- goal deficit at half time was tough on Kilmarnock, but the traffic towards their goal became relentless in the second period.

Entertainment value:

Decent. Despite the pressure, there was a pleasing flow to the match, especially when United got their passing game together in the second period.

Man of the match:

Special mention must go to Jim McIntyre. Two goals took his season's tally to 10 and the Rugby Park old boy generally made life a misery for the Killie defence.

Ian McCall: "It was just a very good result. I felt we were fortunate to be 2-0 up at half time. In the second half we played some very good football and missed some very good chances. We got a break for the first goal and we haven't had many of them recently."

Talking point: Once again the pre-game pressure on Ian McCall was the talk of Tannadice Street, but the game also threw up some minor controversies. Should McIntyre or Brebner be awarded the first goal, for instance, and did Killie have the ball over the line before Barry Robson's last-gasp headed clearance?

Jim Jefferies: "We should have closed the midfield player down but it took a wicked deflection and we are 1-0 down. At half time we said that the next goal was all important and we couldn't afford to lose it."

Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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