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Dundee Utd 2-2 Hibernian: Match Report - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game as it happened.


United battle back for point

Dundee United avoided a fourth successive league defeat thanks to substitute Brian Graham's late equaliser which secured a 2-2 draw against Hibs in a hard-fought clash at Tannadice.


Terry Butcher's Hibees looked on course to chalk up their fourth consecutive league win thanks to midfielder Liam Craig's double either side of half-time.


But Jackie McNamara's battling Tangerines side refused to give up and earned a point after David Goodwillie's 83rd-minute strike spurred them on to get an equaliser through Graham.


Everton boss Roberto Martinez was in the stand to run the rule over Dundee United's promising youngsters who had lit up the first half of the SPFL season.


United went into the game on the back of a disappointing festive period after going down to St Mirren, St Johnstone and Aberdeen.


But they faced a revived Hibs side who arrived on Tayside still buoyed by their late 2-1 win over Edinburgh rivals Hearts at Easter Road a few days before.


It was a slow start from both teams and United's first hint of an opening came after 11 minutes, but Hibs defender Paul Hanlon intercepted Nadir Ciftci's attempted pass to Ryan Gauld and was able to clear the danger.


Hibs began to find their feet after that and came close to making the breakthrough in the 15th minute.


Craig's corner was met by James Collins and his downward header looked to be going in before it was hooked off the line by United midfielder John Rankin.


Midway through the first half, Gauld went on a darting run before Hibees defender Michael Nelson halted him in his tracks.


From the resultant free-kick, Gauld rolled the ball to Ciftci who tried his luck from 25 yards but Ben Williams held the ball comfortably in the visitors goal.


At the other end, Hibs won a corner which Craig swung over and home keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak came racing off his line.


Michael Nelson nodded towards goal but Cierzniak got back enough to turn the ball over the bar at the expense of another corner.


There was controversy on the half-hour mark as United pushed for the opener.


Ciftci struck a long ball forward for Gary Mackay-Steven which prompted Williams to run off his line before mis-kicking his attempted clearance.


Williams then grabbed Mackay-Steven who was about to home in on goal from just outside the box but the linesman raised his flag for offside and the visitors breathed a sigh of relief.


However, Hibs went on to take the lead through Craig in the 37th minute.


John Souttar attempted to play a one-two out of defence with Mark Wilson but the ball fell to Paul Heffernan who wasted no time in threading a pass through to Craig.


The midfielder then ran on to fire a 12-yard shot low into Cierzniak's far corner.


United suffered another setback a few minutes later when Ciftci was forced to go off inured and he was replaced by Graham.


Gauld had a half-chance to level soon after half-time but saw his 25-yard shot go past Williams' left-hand post.


It was end-to-end stuff by this stage and, in the 57th minute, Heffernan was next to try his luck and he let fly with a left-foot effort which skidded wide.


United made their second substitution on the hour when Goodwillie came on for Gauld in a bid to force an equaliser.


But it was the visitors who increased their lead soon after from the penalty spot.


Souttar was judged to have shoved Collins as they contested a ball in the air and, after referee Steven McLean had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, up stepped Craig to make it 2-0.


United almost pulled one back in the 79th minute when Mackay-Steven crossed and Hanlon turned the ball towards his own goal, only for Williams to pull of a reflex save.


But seven minutes from time Goodwillie gave United some hope when he latched onto Graham's cross before turning and firing past Williams from close range.


Then, in the 90th minute, United levelled when Goodwillie's 12-yard shot was turned in by Graham as the points were shared.

St Johnstone V Dundee Utd - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


United can handle rough stuff

John Rankin has told Dundee United's Scottish Premiership rivals that heavy-handed tactics will not work against their talented teenagers.


The Arabs saw a six-match winning streak ended by a painful 4-1 Boxing Day defeat to St Mirren in Paisley.


Saints skipper Jim Goodwin had to be substituted by Buddies boss Danny Lennon before he was sent off after clattering into a string of young United players, while Conor Newton and Marc McAusland were also guilty of heavy challenges that saw them booked.


While St Mirren finished the game with a full compliment, United saw Keith Watson sent off for a crude lunge on Sean Kelly just seconds before Jason Naismith grabbed the home side's crucial third goal.


But Rankin insists it was not St Mirren's tough tackling that kept the likes of Ryan Gauld, Andrew Robertson and Stuart Armstrong quiet.


Speaking ahead of Sunday's league trip to St Johnstone, the midfielder said: "Can they young lads handle the rough stuff? Well they are used to it Monday to Friday, so I don't see any reason why they can't stand up to it in a match.


"I don't think the St Mirren defeat was caused by their physical approach. Okay they had the impetus in the first half after going in front, but we were saying to each other that a quick goal at the start of the second and we would be back in it.


"But their keeper has had some game and then the sending off for Keith and the third St Mirren goal have swung it away from us.


"We haven't been sitting tearing our hair out after that game though. We were on a good run but now it's come to an end. Now we will just move on to the St Johnstone match."


St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright did not bat an eye when Sunday's opponents Dundee United came crashing down to earth on Boxing Day with a 4-1 defeat by St Mirren in Paisley.


While Saints were losing narrowly 1-0 at home to leaders Celtic, the free-scoring Taysiders were tasting defeat for the first time in eight games in a more emphatic way.


However, asked if the result at St Mirren Park had been a surprise, the Northern Irishman said: "No. Anything can happen in this league.


"There is not a lot between the teams and I think most managers will agree with me.


"Dundee United have been good but there have been a lot of good teams this season and St Mirren scored four against us earlier this season (to win 4-3).


"Quite often it is the team who gets the first goal who go on to win the game although I know Dundee United had a player sent off."


The McDiarmid Park manager does not believe United's defeat will give his side a boost as they try to remain in the top half of the table.


"We have to go out and play," he said. "We have to look after ourselves.


"If we play to our capabilities then we can beat any team in the league and that is what we will try to do on Sunday.


"It is a Tayside derby, there will be a big crowd there and we want to get back to winning games because teams are closing in on us for a top-six place."


Wright insists his players did enough in their defeat to the Hoops to be able to take confidence into the United match.


"Celtic are the best team in the country but aside from the goal, I thought we defended well and we got better as the second half went on," he said.


"We kept the ball better and turned them which pleased me, although I was disappointed by the result.


"So there are positives we can take and it is good that we have a game a few days later.


"The beauty of the Christmas period is that there is a lot of football played and so you don't have time to reflect on the previous game."

St Mirren V Dundee Utd - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


McAusland hoping for recall

St Mirren defender Marc McAusland paid the price for a dire showing at Pittodrie when he surrendered his place - now he hopes to win it back after his team-mates were humbled by Motherwell.


The big centre-half was dropped by boss Danny Lennon for Saturday's Fir Park fixture after his blunder gifted Scott Vernon the opener in last week's 2-0 defeat to Aberdeen.


He was responsible for another four opportunities the Dons should have done better with and was punished as Lee Mair took his place against Well.


But that line-up change failed to produce the result Lennon was looking for, with the Paisley men culpable for their own downfall in a 3-0 loss to Stuart McCall's side.


Now McAusland hopes that defeat may hand him a reprieve against Dundee United on Boxing Day.


"It's down to the manager at the end of the day," said the 25-year-old. "But if I'm performing well in training the gaffer will see that and hopefully it will be enough to get me back in.


"I had a poor game up at Aberdeen and that is why I was not picked for Motherwell. But the performance and the result there leaves a window for me to get back in.


"For a while when we were short on cover you knew you would be playing regardless of your performance but now we have great competition for places.


"They boys are all training well and that makes it harder to stay in the team. If you're not performing then you'll be dropped and that's what happened to me last week."


It took Saints eight games to finally register their first Scottish Premiership victory of the new campaign as they beat Hearts at Tynecastle at the start of October.


That Gorgie win teed up a run of nine games with just one league defeat - a 4-0 thrashing by United.


But having shipped five goals without reply against the Dons and Motherwell, McAusland says St Mirren can not afford to lose for a second time to Jackie McNamara's men if they want to keep their top six ambitions on track.


He said: "We had a challenging start to the season when we didn't pick up many points. But then we went on a wee run and moved up the table.


"But we've lost these last two games and we do not want to get dragged back down towards the bottom of the league again. Hopefully come Thursday we can turn it around."


However, McAusland admits he would rather the Buddies were not facing the red-hot Tannadice side next after watching United blast 22 goals while stretching their winning streak to six games,.


"United are a side you want to avoid right now," he admitted. "They are on form and scoring a lot of goals. They are hard to break down and hard to beat.


"But if we can apply ourselves and put a performance on we can definitely pick up points at home."


United's resurgence has been thanks largely to the efforts of youngsters like Ryan Gauld, Stuart Armstrong and Andrew Robertson.


Saturday's 1-0 win over Ross County saw them move into second place but McAusland does not believe they can rein in leaders Celtic - who top the table with a 10 point lead - just yet.


"It's brilliant for Dundee United's youth development system that these guys are coming through," he said. "They must be really proud of the lads they are bringing through.


"All credit to them, they deserve to be where they are in the table.


"They are all still young boys and if in seasons to come they can hold on to a few of them, they can definitely make a challenge to Celtic.


"Obviously money-wise, Celtic are a lot stronger but if Dundee United can keep going, then the boys are talented enough that I don't see many people stopping them.


"For me, Celtic will win the league this year but United and Aberdeen are the sides the rest of us have to look at catching."


Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara believes his on-form side face as tough a Boxing Day fixture as they could get when they travel to St Mirren.


The Tangerines are riding high in the Scottish Premiership as they sit second following last weekend's narrow 1-0 victory over Ross County at Tannadice.


Danny Lennon's eighth-placed Buddies are their opponents on Thursday but while United are in a rich vein of form with six straight wins to their credit, McNamara is convinced their trip to Paisley promises to be a demanding 90 minutes.


McNamara said: "We will have every respect for St Mirren. They like to get the ball down and play like ourselves so it should be open in that respect.


"We're on a good run of form right now but we know what St Mirren are capable of on their day.


"We'll need to be wary of them and we will be because our aim is to keep this run going.


"There are no easy games in this division and that will definitely be the case when we go through there on Wednesday."


United have been attracting big crowds of late, with over 8,000 witnessing their win against County, so McNamara hopes they travel to Paisley in numbers to roar their side on to another victory.


He said: "We had a great attendance for the County game.


"They can be like an extra man by creating the sort of atmosphere the players respond to on the pitch.


"We're hoping to have a decent-size following through for the St Mirren game because it can make all the difference.


"They're liking what they're seeing from the lads so long may that continue."


United face a hectic festive period with games against St Johnstone and Aberdeen coming hard on the heels of Thursday's clash.


And McNamara said: "The players are relishing it.


"The games are coming thick and fast but we'll just focus on one at a time and see where that takes us.


"St Mirren will be tough to start with but we should be confident going into it given our recent results."


Winger Gary Mackay-Steven has a knock which forced him to miss training on Tuesday but United hope both he and full-back Keith Watson will be fit in time to face the Buddies.

Sheff Utd V Oldham - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Cuvelier boost for Blades

Sheffield United midfielder Florent Cuvelier is back in contention for the home game against Oldham.


The Belgian, who has not featured for the Blades since October, is expected to return to the bench after illness ruled him out of the goalless weekend draw at Stevenage.


Stephen McGinn returned to the starting line-up on Saturday and is expected to retain his place in midfield as the Blades bid to extend their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions.


Boss Nigel Clough has no new injury or suspension problems and the likes of midfield trio Jamie Murphy, Conor Coady and Simon Lappin, plus winger Febian Brandy and striker Lyle Taylor are pushing for recalls.


Oldham have Jonson Clarke-Harris back from suspension when they make a trip to former forward Jose Baxter's club.


Clarke-Harris returns from a one-match ban after missing out against Colchester, a game which Latics lost 2-0 and boss Lee Johnson dubbed his "worst day in football".


Johnson has depleted options up front with Danny Philliskirk also a doubt due to a knee injury he picked up at Boundary Park on Saturday and Charlie MacDonald (thigh) definitely out.


Winger Mike Petrasso extended his loan stay from QPR on Moday but winger James Dayton (ankle), midfielder James Wesolowski (head) and defender Edijs Joksts (back) are all out again.