Dundee United

Aberdeen's Kevin Nisbet missed an open goal and Dundee United's Panutche Camara struck the post as both sides failed to significantly boost their Scottish Premiership top-six hopes in a goalless draw.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin told BBC Scotland: "We knew the game was always going to be difficult given the way the pitch is at the moment.

"I don't think it suits either team and I've got to give credit to the players for the way that they approached the game. With that endeavour and commitment from both teams you always felt that it was only going to be one goal that was going to win it and unfortunately we weren't able to get that break of the ball.

"There was one chance in the first half where Camara hits the post but unfortunately it doesn't hit the back of the net. It runs across the face of the goal and there's nobody there to tap it in.

"I thought we were going to snatch it at the end when we had a flurry of opportunities in the last few minutes but unfortunately the ball wouldn't sit kindly enough.

"Can't have any arguments about the scoreline. I was really pleased with what the players gave in terms of resilience and commitment. The defence has been a wee bit fragile of late and tonight they get the clean sheet which will give the back line a bit of confidence."

In terms of the team's faint top six hopes, he said: "We let ourselves down against Kilmarnock in a game we should have been out of sight in.

"We definitely dropped two points there. I can't say the same tonight because I don't think either team had enough to win it.

"We've given ourselves a mountain to climb. We wanted to try and put a bit more pressure on to Falkirk. We still have a game in hand but it's going to be tough. We rely on ourselves going on a very good winning run and Falkirk slipping up."

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Dundee United have admonished a section of their supporters for "unacceptable" behaviour both inside and outside Tannadice.

United host Aberdeen in a rearranged Scottish Premiership game on Tuesday.

And, alluding to an area of the stadium that houses the club's ultras group, a statement released on Tuesday read: "In recent weeks, behaviour within this area of the Eddie Thompson Stand has deteriorated to an unacceptable level.

"In addition, individuals associated with this section, including juveniles, have been identified as engaging in antisocial behaviour in the vicinity of the stadium and involvement in confrontations with visiting supporters following fixtures against The Spartans and Kilmarnock.

"This conduct has no place at our home stadium."

The statement added: "Dundee United will not tolerate anti-social behaviour that brings the club into disrepute and damages the reputation of our wider season ticket holders and fanbase."

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• Dundee United are unbeaten in their last five Scottish Premiership meetings with Aberdeen (W3 D2), last going longer without a league defeat to them in November 1999 (seven).

• Aberdeen have lost six of their past seven league visits to Dundee United, including each of their last three in a row since a 3-1 win in March 2023. The Dons last lost four league games away to Dundee United in a row in November 2008.

• Dundee United have won each of their last three Scottish Premiership games played on a Tuesday, including a 2-0 home win over Aberdeen in September this season. Before this, they had only won three of their previous 22 top-flight matches on this day of the week (D6 L13).

• Aberdeen have lost each of their last six away league games, last losing seven successive away league outings in February 2023.

• Dundee United's Jim Goodwin, who took charge of 35 league games as Aberdeen boss from February 2022 to January 2023, has won six and lost just one of his nine managerial home games against the Dons in the Scottish Premiership (D2) – his joint-most home wins against any opponent in the competition (also six v St Johnstone).

Dundee United right-back Ryan Strain has not had any talks about a new deal despite his contract ending this summer, but the 28-year-old says it is a situation he is used to and is concentrating on playing more after injury problems. (The Courier), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Dundee United have lost Craig Sibbald to a hamstring injury while long-term absentee Isaac Pappoe remains out with a knee problem.

Aberdeen defender Liam Morrison drops out after his red card against Dundee but captain Graeme Shinnie returns from suspension.

Emmanuel Gyamfi is pushing for a comeback, while Stuart Armstrong, Mats Knoester, Nick Suman and Kristers Tobers are still unavailable.

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin challenged his team to maintain their strong record against Aberdeen as the two sides bid to keep their top-six Premiership hopes alive on Tuesday.

United have won their past three home games against Aberdeen and are unbeaten in five matches against the Pittodrie outfit.

After a draw against Kilmarnock on Saturday, Goodwin's side trail sixth-placed Falkirk by 10 points, but have two games in hand.

"Aberdeen are in a similar situation to ourselves where they won't be happy with where they find themselves in the league table," Goodwin said.

"Our record recently against Aberdeen has been very good and we have to try and build on that.

"We feel we dropped two points on Saturday and the only way to make amends for that is to go out and win the next game.

"As much as we've given ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb in terms of catching Falkirk in sixth, we still won't give up the fight and we'll keep going right until the end.

"Obviously we're relying on Falkirk losing games and ourselves having to win a lot of the last few games before the split, but we'll keep going."

Watch the best of the action from Tannadice as Kilmarnock rescue a last-gasp draw against Dundee United. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your views on Dundee United's draw at home to Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you said:

Das: Controlled the midfield for 85 minutes, then for some reason switched off. Why Jim Goodwin never killed the play with two subs, I have no idea.

Dave: Yet another pathetic defensive display at the end. This bunch of players look like a jellyfish looking for a backbone. Ross Graham as captain? Don't make me laugh! He is a bog standard defender totally out of his depth in a leadership role.

Ross: Mentality, mentality, mentality. Home league form has been horrible but we still don't learn. We sat back deep in numbers because that always works. Not. Invited the goal and just once again looked soft. Stop pressing the panic button, United.

Euan: Once again we let teams attack us by sitting back in and around our box for the last 10 minutes. Every United supporter saw it coming. What does Jim do? He stands there and watches and does nothing and then blames the players post-match. How many times does this have to happen before he realises he's the one at fault? Time's up, Jim. Move on and please do it quickly.

Andrew: Goodwin playing to hang on was the issue when we have consistently let in late goals all season. Last 10 we didn't have any possession and needed fresh legs, didn't make any subs. That's on Jim.

Matthew: That result is 100% on the manager. Everyone in the ground could see how deep the team was and that subs needed made with five minutes to go - why couldn't he? A decent team performance sabotaged by Goodwin's poor game management.

Substitute Marley Watkins' injury-time equaliser earned Kilmarnock a dramatic point after Amar Fatah's sensational strike seemed to have led Dundee United to back-to-back Scottish Premiership wins for the first time this season.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin tells BBC Scotland: "The end result feels like a bit of a defeat given the circumstances of how we concede the equaliser, and also given the opportunities that we had during the game.

"I thought it should have been a fairly comfortable and straightforward win but unfortunately I'm stood here talking about dropping points from a leading position again, and not being able to see out the game.

"That's the main frustration.

"I can't say we don't work on that sort of situation in training, defending the box. I've tried numerous combinations in the back three and I have to say the back three for 90 minutes defended the box brilliantly. Everything Kilmarnock had thrown at us from direct balls, set plays, balls in from wide areas, I thought we defended them really well.

"Whether it was a lapse in concentration near the end of the game, I don't know. But it's criminal for us to have one of Kilmarnock's forwards wander into the penalty box unopposed and get a free header. We need to be more aggressive and there needs to be a challenge there to ensure we finish the game with all three points.

"I thought over the course of the game, playing against a Kilmarnock team that's been scoring goals at will of late, we managed well. We managed the conditions better.

"Had we won the game 2-0 or 3-0 I don't think there would have been any complaints but we haven't seen it through and dropped another couple of points from a winning position."

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Dundee United wing-back Will Ferry is irked by suggestions that persistent transfer talk has affected his performances after a bid from Vancouver Whitecaps was rejected in August while Real Salt Lake, Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and an as-yet unnamed Eredivisie outfit have expressed interest in the 25-year-old. (The Courier), external

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin indicated he will have everyone available except long-term absentee Isaac Pappoe (knee).

Kilmarnock striker Tyreece John-Jules will have a scan assessed after coming off against Celtic with a leg injury. Kyle Magennis (knee), Djenairo Daniels (knee), Matty Kennedy (hip) and Lewis Mayo (hamstring) remain out, while James Brown is close to a comeback.

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Jim Goodwin has warned that the condition of the pitch at Tannadice could change the style of football Dundee United play against Kilmarnock.

Heavy rainfall in recent weeks has forced the postponement of two games and left the playing surface in poor condition.

The team were able to play their Scottish Cup tie against Spartans in midweek, though the damage to the grass was visible, and with the Premiership match on Saturday and another against Aberdeen on Tuesday, there's no time for it to recover.

That will affect United's approach, Goodwin admitted.

"The pitch is not ideal and plenty has been made of that," the United manager said.

"But we have to find solutions in terms of potentially changing up how we want to play a little bit.

"You saw on Wednesday with some of the passes that were played into midfield, it's difficult for the players to control.

"We might have to change our approach slightly, play a little bit more percentage football and take that risk element out of it."

Despite the challenge of the pitch, United are looking to continue momentum after two wins on the bounce.

"Hopefully we can build on the good results that we've had of late and continue to close the gap on Falkirk on the sixth," Goodwin said.

"That's two wins now, back-to-back. Obviously, we need to try and continue to build on that and gain some momentum going into the last few games before the split and see where it takes us.

"It's not going to be easy. Kilmarnock have really picked up under Neil McCann. There's a change of shape and a change of style of play as well, which we have to contend with.

"They're scoring lots of goals and we give them the greatest respect."

Dundee United will have to go with three forwards for the rest of the season following Nikolaj Moller's recent sale, indicating the club will not seek a free agent replacement. (Courier - subscription required), external

Manager Jim Goodwin is planning contract talks with eight Dundee United players. (Record), external

Referee John Beaton will officiate Dundee United's Saturday home meeting with Kilmarnock three days on from sending off three players in Aberdeen's Scottish Cup win over Motherwell. (Courier - subscription required), external

Friday's Scottish gossip

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Saturday's game against Kilmarnock.

Here are the main points:

• Goodwin admits that while he's "delighted" to be in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, their 2-1 win over Spartans was "a lot more difficult than we had hoped for".

• Iurie Iovu was sent off in the early stages of the cup clash and Goodwin stresses "playing with a man less against any opposition is always going to make things more difficult but credit to the players they got the result we needed."

• Ross Graham scored United's opener on Tuesday night and Goodwin insists the defender "has been really influential for us this season, he knows what this club means to the supporters".

• Getting back to league action, Goodwin stresses "every game is a cup final for us now".

• United will give the "greatest respect" to a Kilmarnock side who are "fighting for their lives" at the bottom end of the table.

• But the United boss insists "my players should be going into the game in high spirits and feeling good about themselves."

• United are "going to have to make changes" for Saturday's game given the volume of fixtures, and Goodwin stresses he wants to make sure the team on the pitch is "fresh".

• Goodwin adds "it's great to be playing at Tannadice" after several games were called off due to the weather.

• Goodwin has been "really pleased" with goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer, adding "his sharpness is certainly coming back".

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• Dundee United are winless in seven Scottish Premiership meetings with Kilmarnock (D3 L4) since a 4-0 triumph in November 2022.

• Kilmarnock have won two of their last three top-flight visits to Dundee United (D1), as many as their previous 24 beforehand.

• After their 3-2 win over Falkirk, Dundee United are looking to pick up back-to-back league victories for the first time this season. However, they have lost their last two home matches in the Scottish Premiership, last losing more in a row in the competition in March 2023 (four).

• Kilmarnock have conceded at least three goals in each of their last three league games. The last side to ship 3+ goals in four successive Scottish Premiership matches were Hamilton in November 2020, while Killie themselves last did so in May 2015.

• Kilmarnock's Tyreece John-Jules has both scored (six) and been directly involved (eight - six goals, two assists) more Scottish Premiership goals in 2026 so far than any other player. John-Jules has four goals and one assist in Killie's last two league matches.

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Dundee United defender Ross Graham was delighted with a "hard fought" Scottish Cup win over Spartans and praised the side's work from set pieces.

Jim Goodwin's side were reduced to 10 men in the first half at Tannadice when Iurie Iovu was shown a straight red card but they managed to put themselves 2-0 up in less than an hour.

Despite a late fight-back, the hosts held on to book their spot in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.

It was a hard fought victory in the end but we're all delighted to get through to the next round," Graham told club media.

The 24-year-old headed in from a United corner for the opener and admits the club have been working hard on scoring from set pieces.

"Every team is looking more and more and set plays," he added.

"We work really hard on them and they've paid off a few times this season."

And United's hard work on set pieces is paying off.

The Tangerines are fourth in the league for chances created from set plays with 41 - only Hibs, Hearts and Rangers have created more. While their expected goals from set plays of 10.9 is the fourth highest behind St Mirren and the Edinburgh clubs.

Even better for Goodwin's men, they're second for goals from set pieces, 18, the same as Rangers while only league leaders Hearts have scored more from set plays.

Those goals have come from only 18 shots from set plays which is the third lowest in the league ahead of Motherwell and Celtic.

Thanks to goals from Graham and Amar Fatah, United will face Falkirk in the last eight of the Scottish Cup next month.

And having recently beaten John McGlynn's side 3-2 in the league, Graham sees no reason why United can't expect more success.

"They've had a really good season this year," he added.

"We beat them at the weekend, so there's no reason why we can't do that again.

"Just leading the team out at Hampden, I probably couldn't wish for many more things than that. That would be a dream come true.

"But we need to get past Falkirk first before anything can happen."

United fans, we asked for your views after Tuesday night's Scottish Cup win over Spartans.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Eddie: Amar Fatah will now miss the quarter final because of a ridiculous yellow card, just unfair to be honest. Apart from that I thought United deserved the win and with some better finishing it would have been a lot more comfortable despite the astonishing red card. Onto the quarter-final we go.

Ricky: You would think Spartans were the Premiership team we were that bad. We can't pass the ball, time for Jim Goodwin to go or we will be relegated.

Kieran: The main objective was to get through and we did that. However once again the officials decided to make the game about them. The referee set the tone mere minutes into the game by booking Amar Fatah for a coming together and then ended up proceeding to dish out cards like they were burning a hole in his pocket. Although Iurie Iovu was daft to make that sort of challenge, it was never a red card.

George: Victory and progression in the tournament is exactly what we wanted. Not the confidence winning result we wanted but confidence can be taken from the fact we did it with 10 players for eighty minutes. Let's take that confidence into the Kilmarnock game and really get our season back on track.

Graham: That was a tough watch. This was a great opportunity to build some confidence and score goals and play well. Ok the game changed when down to 10 men but when you move to long balls your centre forward needs to show basic skill like holding the ball up and challenging in the air. So disappointing to see so many chances squandered due lack of confidence.