Welcome back, Dundee derby. How this fixture has been missed. Even if it does play havoc with the blood pressure.
All of 848 days on from the previous meeting of United and the Dee, these fierce foes made up for lost time with a 2-2 thriller in front of a packed, raucous Tannadice Park; an attack on the senses. Following a couple of 0-0 draws on Saturday, this was the Scottish Premiership truly back with a bang. Kristijan Trapanovski and Miller Thomson found the net in the first period either side of Seb Palmer-Houlden’s strike.
However, United’s dominance faded after the break and Luke McCowan ensured a share of spoils from the penalty spot. By the time the full-time whistle blew, a share of the spoils was probably fair. was there to analyse the action.
While United have sought to exploit markets far and wide this summer – their 10 signings coming from eight different nations, from Kenya to the Caribbean – it was heartening to see a promising Scottish youngster dazzle. Not only were Thomson’s movement and finish perfect to make it 2-1 to the Tangerines, From the opening minutes when he skipped past Luke Graham like he wasn’t there and picked out David Babunski with the cut-back, the winger was fearless. He fully justified a gutsy call by boss Jim Goodwin.
Thomson played a huge part in the opener, too, by intelligently drifting inside and linking up with Babunski during the build-up. It was a display of creativity and maturity, given the tactical importance of his.