Dundee United have 'disappointment' after Conference League win as horror stories prey on minds

The teams meet again next week in Luxembourg and though United will be favourites to progress to the third qualifying round of the Conference League, they struggled at times against their part-time opponents while past Scottish horror stories will prey on their mind.

Aberdeen lost 1-0 against Fola Esch in Luxembourg nine years ago but having already won the first leg 3-1, progressed to the next round. Rangers, meanwhile, suffered one of Scottish football’s biggest-ever shocks when they lost 2-0 against Progres Niederkorn in 2017 having, like United, only managed to gain a 1-0 advantage at home in the first leg.

Goodwin knows the job is far from done on a night when he made Dundee United history by picking a team devoid of Scots. Craig Sibbald and Owen Stirton did come on as second-half substitutes but United, who were already leading with a goal just after half time from Zac Sapsford, could not make things more comfortable for themselves. He lamented “sloppy” play and while he accepted it was still very early for such a much-changed side, he stressed there was still “a hell of a lot we need to do better” next week in Luxembourg and beyond.

“We’re pleased with the clean sheet and we scored a really good goal with a bit of quality to turn and it was a wonderful strike (from Sapsford),” said Goodwin.

“I think there are certain elements we need to do better in. We turned over possession far too cheaply which led to counters but defensively we were very good. There were certainly moments in the game where we need to improve.

Still game on in Luxembourg

“I thought when we did move the ball quickly and found pockets we looked a threat but we’ve left at least a couple of goals out there. (Vicko) Sevelj had a great chance but credit to the ‘keeper who made a good save. (Owen) Stirton also had a chance and he made a good save onto the post. We’d rather be sitting here with a 3-0 advantage but at 1-0 it’s still very much game on.

“The disappointment is more the fact we didn’t do ourselves justice in the second half. Our possession on the ball, we didn’t move it quickly enough. We were too sloppy and we’ll try to improve those things. It’s still very early days for this group of players but there’s a lot to work on going into next week.

“It’s the first chance for the players to play in front of a near enough full house,” he added. “We’ve had a terrific pre-season and played some really good football but there’s a difference between friendlies and competitive football where there’s more pressure. We’ll learn. I don’t mean to sound all doom and gloom, I’m just disappointed we didn’t make it more comfortable.”