Dundee Utd 3 - 2 St Mirren: United red cards concern Conway as pursuit of Old Firm continues

Published on Sunday 6 December 2009 23:27

CRAIG Conway admits Dundee United need to stop getting players sent off if they are to maintain their pursuit of the Old Firm in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title race.

Craig Levein's men saw red for the third time in two games on Saturday and the sixth time this season when Morgaro Gomis lashed out at St Mirren midfielder Stephen Thomson in a bad-tempered encounter at Tannadice.

Just as in every match they have had players dismissed so far this term, United managed to avoid defeat, holding on for a 3-2 win that kept them within striking range of Celtic and Rangers.

But Conway, who put his side 2-0 up while they still had 11 men on the field, knows their luck will run out unless they improve their discipline.

He said of the run of reds: "I hope it doesn't keep going. The manager says that. We need to stop and be a bit more disciplined. We're used to it from last week but hopefully it doesn't continue. We need to tighten up."

The 24-year-old, who like most people at Tannadice did not see the incident that led to Gomis' dismissal, added: "You're going to have players out now. It's mainly in that centre-midfield position. I think that's three now sent off from that position."

Suspensions for Danny Swanson and Prince Buaben meant Levein was forced to play defender Sean Dillon as a makeshift midfielder. The move worked out, with Dillon setting up Damian Casalinuovo's opener before Conway netted his first goal since April with a free-kick that left Paul Gallacher red-faced.

From what appeared to be a crossing position, Conway spotted the Buddies goalkeeper had strayed towards his far post, leaving a huge gap for the ball to be curled into. Nevertheless, it was a fine strike from Conway, who said: "It looked good because it went in but if it went over the bar, everybody would have said, 'Why not cross?'"

St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson refused to pin the blame for Conway's free-kick on his goalkeeper. "It's a really good strike," said MacPherson, who saw midfielder Hugh Murray equal Tony Fitzpatrick's record of 351 league appearances for the club.

"Paul's obviously better qualified than me in that situation, but there's a lot of pace on it. At one point we thought it was hitting the crossbar from our angle but it's dipped right at the last minute. It's just disappointing at that period when you lose that goal."

United's victory was a fourth in six home games this season, keeping them four points behind Celtic with a game in hand. Conway said: "We need to try to win our home games if we're going to get to where we want to be. St Mirren are a hard team to play against; they're a really big, physical team and we're delighted to get the three points."

The Tangerines' game in hand is a rearranged fixture against Rangers a week tomorrow.