Dundee Utd boss Jim Goodwin hits out at 'mindless idiots' among Aberdeen fans after being pelted by coins - and pie

Jim Goodwin has hit out at the “mindless idiots” among the Aberdeen support, who pelted him with coins, pies and even a full Cuppa Juice carton as he returned to the dugout as Dundee United manager against his former side.

Jim Goodwin endured an uncomfortable first outing as Dundee United manager against former club Aberdeen (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

There was plenty on the line as the two old rivals met at Tannadice with Goodwin’s old club coming out on top after a 3-1 victory which lifts them into fifth place. United, however, remain bottom after their seventh successive defeat. Duk opened the scoring for the visitors after 56 minutes after a poor first half. Jamie McGrath equalised from the penalty spot with over just under 20 minutes left but United conceded twice in the last 11 minutes through goals from Ross McCrorie and substitute Marley Watkins to claim the points. But the post-match debate was dominated by objects thrown onto the pitch by Aberdeen fans. One flare even almost hit one of their own players, Ryan Duncan.

“Look, I obviously wasn’t expecting a warm reception from the Aberdeen fans,” said Goodwin, who was sacked by the Pittodrie club five weeks ago. “They were clearly disappointed with how things ended at the club for me. But, yeah, I was disappointed by the fact there were coins and other projectiles getting chucked down on top of us. I have to say, it is definitely just a minority.

“There are always a few bad eggs who tarnish the rest of the club because Aberdeen is a terrific club, one of the best supported clubs in the country. There were two-and-a-half to three thousand down the road tonight supporting their team. But a few mindless idiots unfortunately have us talking about stuff we really don’t want to be talking about. It was disappointing, but I am not going to go over the top on it. I am sure it will be dealt with.

“There was a pie, there was a cup of juice, there was a couple of coins and one of them unfortunately landed on top of my head,” he added. “So, yeah, it was disappointing. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but it is not what you want when you are going to your work. The atmosphere I thought was good. The Dundee United fans were very good as well. They gave us a great reception as well coming out before the game and even at half-time they were brilliant getting behind the team.

“I understand why the supporters like the flares, they do generate a bit of atmosphere and a bit of colour. But one of the smoke bombs that got chucked on nearly hit Ryan Duncan in the head. I don’t know what needs to happen before that kind of thing gets caught out. I think we have got CCTV at pretty much all of the big clubs now so maybe we need to identify these individuals and make sure it gets dealt with before something serious happens.”

Goodwin applauded both the United fans and Aberdeen fans when he emerged from the tunnel before kick-off. Barry Robson, the interim Aberdeen manager, praised his side for prevailing on an emotional night. “We always knew it was going to be a difficult game, with the new manager bounce that everybody told me about all week but you saw the boys out there fighting,” he said. “If United keep going like that I am sure they will stay safe but you have to remember that we were fragile for a while, too.”