Dundee United v Aberdeen: Jim Goodwin hails Declan Gallagher after his crucial Dundee United equaliser

Jim Goodwin hailed departing Declan Gallagher after the veteran defender drew the curtain on his Dundee United career with a crucial equaliser in the 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Tannadice.

The 34-year-old was playing his last game for the Taysiders and left the home fans with a goal to remember when he headed in a Glenn Middleton corner in the 56th minute to cancel out a first-half opener from Jeppe Okkels.

Striker Sam Dalby netted a penalty for the home side in the 63rd minute and when the dust settled on the final day of top-six fixtures, United had leapfrogged the Pittodrie side into fourth place which brought a potential Europa League qualifying place, although the Dons can take it off them and leave them with Europa Conference League football if they win the Scottish Cup final against Celtic next week.

United boss Goodwin said: “I thought there were some really special performances, in particular, Declan Gallagher, the guy that knows he’s leaving.

“He’s been such an important player for me over the couple of seasons that I’ve been here.

“For him to get the equaliser, to give the team that bit of belief and that bit of inspiration, I think it’s a brilliant way for him on a personal note to sign off after two fantastic years at the club.”

United’s impressive achievement was marred by a pitch invasion by their fans after the final whistle.

Amid the chaos, Dons unused substitute Jack MacKenzie was struck by a missile thrown from the section holding Aberdeen fans and was given lengthy treatment before being taken away with a bloodied bandage around his head and stitches were required.

The United players and staff were prevented from coming out to take a bow in front of their own fans.

Dons boss Jimmy Thelin, who described MacKenzie’s injury as “totally unacceptable” has to turn his attention to the showpiece finale against the champions.

Thelin’s side ended the league season with four straight defeats.

The Swedish boss, who joined the Pittodrie club from Elfsborg last summer, said: “We have to be more brave in the future. Sometimes we think too much about the past and then it repeats itself.

“We can talk too much about what’s happened before, so it’s just repeating itself.

“We have to try to find a way now to break this circle and look more optimistically to the future.

“That’s important in football, how you cope with setbacks, how you cope with a tough moment, how you prepare yourself. And all this is not only mentality. It’s a lot of things.

“It can be the balance how we play, it can be the balance inside the squad, how we put the team together.

“And we try to get better in every part. It’s a lot of things, but the progress has been there. But this year, we didn’t deserve more than a fifth position because of inconsistency.”