Jim Goodwin slams Dundee United’s late derby switch-off as ‘pathetic’

Jim Goodwin angrily insisted it was “pathetic” that Dundee United had thrown away a two-goal lead after the 2-2 draw with Dundee in the William Hill Premiership.

The visitors were leading 2-0 deep into stoppage time at Dens Park thanks to an Amar Fatah penalty and a Luca Stephenson header, with the celebrations in full flow in the away end.

However, Ashley Hay pulled one back for the Dark Blues in the fourth minute of added time and two minutes later United skipper Ross Graham headed into his own net to gift the hosts a point.

Furious Goodwin admitted the recurring failing of conceding late goals was why his side are sitting outside the top six.

The manager said: “It just sums up our season, the last five minutes of that game. I‘ve lost count of the amount of times we’ve thrown away points from winning positions.

“The number of late goals and just not seeing out games – it’s pathetic really.

“I can’t believe that just five minutes before the game finished we were all feeling good about ourselves, having witnessed one of the best Dundee United performances in a Dundee derby for a long, long time.

“It was one of the most one-sided derbies that I’ve seen for several years. We could have been, four or five nil up before Dundee put the ball in the back of our net.

“We should have been well out of sight before conceding that goal to make it 2-1, which was really poor on our part.

“Then the last kick of the ball, we scored an own goal. So it’s really difficult to put into words.

“We’ve been here far too many times. We know as a group where we went wrong this season. We know what’s cost us.

“This is why we’re not in the top six, because of not being able to see out games.”

Dundee boss Steven Pressley admitted the dramatic late comeback will feel like a win for the club’s fans.

The former Scotland defender said: “The one thing about this group of players is they’ve demonstrated, not just today but time and time again, their ability to respond to adversity.

“We actually started the game well for 35 minutes and then for 55 minutes we were a shadow of ourselves.

“We played in a manner that I hadn’t seen for a number of weeks. We got spooked a little bit. But they never lost that mentality and that’s what I’m proud of.

“We are five games unbeaten. I’m certain for our supporters, it’ll feel like a win today.

“It’s amazing how your fortunes change. I think it could be a really important game for us as well.

“Not just the outcome, which keeps the confidence, but it also demonstrates that we have come a long way.”