Cutting edge key to United striking the right balance

HAVING put together a solid defence and a reasonably creative mid field, M icky Mellon needs to be able to fit the final piece of his jigsaw into place soon.

Otherwise Dundee United may find that their failure to turn constructive build-up play into goals will come back to haunt them.

Mellon highlighted a spirit of adventure by fielding a front three of Lawrence Shankland, Marc McNulty and Nicky Clark, but he found himself praising his team’s defensive qualities instead, notably those of keeper Benjamin Siegrist.

If not for Siegrist’s spectacular last-minute save from Murray Davidson’s powerful header, United would not have garnered any reward for their efforts.

However, it’s about getting the balance right, according to Mellon, and he stressed the importance of building on a strong base.

He is also convinced that once McNulty — signed earlier this month on a season-long loan from Reading — is fully fit and the trio start to blend together, the quality of his attackers will reward his faith in them with a plentiful supply of goals.

That remains to be seen. But it’s a view shared by Mark Reynolds, albeit the defender also confessed to a feeling of frustration at not scoring.

‘We are still very much a work in progress,’ he said. ‘To come away with a clean sheet is a good day’s work.

‘It’s about finding the correct balance and if we give our front three the right service, they all have goals in them.

‘There are going to be days when we don’t get anything to them and nothing drops. But we will keep working on getting the ball forward and creating chances to score.

‘We defend from the front and everybody is responsible for the clean sheet. In earlier games, we gave away easy goals and we have worked hard on trying to be more resolute and solid.

‘We have shown that in the last couple of games but we are still a team in transition getting used to working with the manager and finding our feet.’

Meantime, Reynolds considers that United are fortunate to have a goalkeeper of the status and stature of Siegrist.

Reynolds pointed to initial doubts on the part of some on whether the 28-year- old Swiss fitted the profile of a successful top-flight goalkeeper.

But he said: ‘Since I’ve been here he has been huge for us and we are lucky to have someone we can rely on when the pressure mounts.

‘I have been fortunate enough to play with some very good goalies and Benji is right up there. He is a huge guy and a huge presence as well — and when you have a guy of that physicality who is brave, it gives you confidence.’

While quick to praise Siegrist for the quality of his 90th-minute save, Saints’ Davidson reflected that he should really have scored.

‘I was so close and I knew I had lost my marker, so I was just trying to get a good contact on the ball and was thinking: “Hit the target”,’ said the midfielder.

‘To be fair to the goalkeeper, he’s made a good save, but right now I feel like I should have scored, so I’m disappointed.’

After weathering United’s early onslaught, St Johnstone gradually gained a foothold to the extent that they enjoyed 57 per cent possession overall. Davidson declared: ‘It is two points dropped.

‘If you take away the first ten to 15 minutes, we dominated the game, so we have mixed emotions.

‘It’s a clean sheet, which we had been looking for, but I thought we limited them to very few chances.

‘Dundee United are a decent side and their front three are all quality. Give them half a chance and you can be in trouble, so you need to limit them and I can’t remember Zander Clark having many saves.

‘When I asked him, he couldn’t r e member o ne, s o we are disappointed not to have won.

‘But there are always positives. We got into enough good areas and created enough chances to win.’

While the quality of the finishing left much to be desired, there were other aspects of this Tayside derby that were pleasing enough on the eye, not least the quality of the defending and the commitment of both sets of players.

David Wotherspoon’s contribution was also worthy of note. A willing worker and a handful for the United defence, he forced a save f rom Clark before teeing up Davidson in the closing moments to hallmark a fine performance.

‘We want David to play higher up the park and he has been doing that,’ explained Saints manager Callum Davidson. ‘I want him to be more clinical in the final third.’

ST JOHNSTONE (4-5-1): Clark 6; Kerr 7, Gordon 6, McCart 6, Tanser 6; McNamara 6, Bryson 6 (McCann 89), Davidson 7, Wotherspoon 8, Conway 6 (O’Halloran 85); May 5 (Hendry 65). Subs not used: Parish, Rooney, Booth, Craig, Kane.

Booked: McCann.

DUNDEE UNITED (4-3-3): Siegrist 8; Connolly 6, Edwards 6, Reynolds 6, Robson 6; Bolton 6, Powers 6, Harkes 6; Clark 5, McNulty 5 (Smith 70), Shankland 5. Subs not used: Mehmet, McMullan, King, Fotheringham, Appere, Neilson, Watson, Hutchinson.

Booked: Powers. Man of the match: David Wotherspoon. Referee: Andrew Dallas.