Dundee United 1
Dundee 0
League (Premier League)

Match Report

A stunning last-minute winner from Joaquim Ferraz gave Dundee United the honours in the final city derby of the millennium.

Winners of both the clubs' earlier meetings this season, the home side looked ready to settle for a point from an encounter which had largely failed to live up to its billing.

However, when the Portuguese striker caught Steven Tweed dawdling in possession 35 yards out to first disposses him then run on to fire a perfectly placed shot beyond Robert Douglas into the Dundee net, there wasn't a Tangerine-shirted follower who would have wished for a better way to mark the occasion.

As sweet as the triumph was for United, it was bitter for Dundee. The sight of Tweed pounding the ground with his fists in frustration was a symbol of more than just personal agony.

The Dark Blues, desperate to deliver a triumph to cheer their fans over the festive season, had hit the crossbar through Willie Falconer and been denied by a great one-handed stop from Alan Combe, the keeper somehow touching a fierce drive from Nicky Banger over when a goal seemed certain.

They suffered on the injury front, too, with Scotland under-21 internationalist Lee Wilkie rushed to hospital for stitches after a clash of heads with David Hannah which left him with fewer teeth than he had started the night with.

"This was a fantastic result for us but I can see that Dundee will be very disappointed not to take something from the match - I would be in their shoes," admitted United manager Paul Sturrock as he savoured his side's return to third place in the table from where they had been temporarily dislodged by Motherwell.

"Although we have got the win, the fact is we did not perform that well and I laid into the guys in the dressing room. We are fine when the opposition has the ball but we seem to have lost the art of going forward."

And he revealed, surprisingly given his part in the outcome of the match, it was matchwinner Ferraz who had come in for much of the criticism.

"Joaquim got us out of jail but the fact was his performance overall was unacceptable and I made that clear," he said.

"He is trying to play the game at the pace it is played at in Portugal and that is no use in Scottish football.

"He will have to adapt to it for it is not going to adapt to him that's for sure. "

"In Joaquim's defence, he has had problems with injury recently but it is now time that he starts taking on board what he is going to have to do."

Wilkie's injury,Nin the 15th minute, wasbthe first real incident of note in the game.NAt first it looked innocuous enough,Bboth players going up to challenge for a 50-50 ball in the centre circle. The sight of the Dundee player lying motionless on the ground showed that something was badly wrong and medical staff from both clubs joined the scrum of players looking on anxiously.

It soon became clear that not only would he play no further part in the game, but would not be able to leave the pitch under his own steam and he was care fully strapped into a stretcher while an ambulance was called for.

In all it took over three minutes for the injured defender to be taken to the side lines, a delay that allowed Jocky Scott to send on Banger as a replacement and reshape his back line.

The setback seemed. If anything, inspire the visitors for they positively bristled with aggression in the exchanges to immediately afterwards.

Gavin Rae shot wide after running on to an Annand lay-off, while Falconer had a vociferous penalty appeal turned down after firing an effort from the edge of the box into the chest of David Partridge. The ball clearly appeared to strike the United player's arms but his defence was that it had played him.

Banger was in the midst of much of their attacking play, showing both good pace and an eagerness to drive in on goal when the opportunity presented itself.

United suffered their own injury set back shortly after half-time when Israell internationalist Jan Telesnikov pulled up during a break from midfield, clutching his hamstring, a problem that will end his involvement until after the winter break. The timing was unfortunate for the game had been going through its most exciting phase so far with Craig Easton and Banger forcing spectacular stops from the keepers.

At length it picked up again, though, with Falconer penalising the United defence's failure to properly clear Steven Boyack's corner from the right by smashing a shot onto the crossbar from eight yards out.

The Dark Blues were in the ascendancy but Scott clearly wasn't happy for he made a tactical change, replacing McSkimming with Hugh Robertson and pulling Gavin Rae back to left-back.

It didn't have any obvious effect, though to be fair Dundee did create a chance worthy of the name sending Annand in behind the United rearguard.

Happily for the home fans, David Worrell-one of the quickest players on their side-was up to the challenge, sprinting back to deny the forward with a perfectly timed sliding tackle.

It was to be a crucial stop for, as Scott said, it set up the dramatic finish.

"If you don't score goals then you are always going to be vulnerable to a sucker punch and that is exactly what happened to us tonight. We created plenty of chances but they don't count for anything unless you put them away."

Dundee's Annand was booked for foulIng Partridge, United's Ferraz for diving.

Match report written by The Courier