MATCH REPORT: STENHOUSEMUIR V DUNDEE UNITED B

A spirited and determined performance from the Development Squad wasn't enough to reach the second round of the SPFL Trust Trophy as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at Stenhousemuir.

Goals at Ochilview from Nicky Jamieson, Ryan Tierney and Cammy Graham saw the League Two outfit progress to the next round of the competition against the ten-men of United.

First-team coach Adam Asghar picked senior Our Academy graduates Lewis Neilson, Chris Mochrie and Kieran Freeman to provide experience in his team selection, deploying a 4-3-3 with Darren Watson, Lennon Walker and Kai Fotheringham leading the line. 

United’s last trip to Larbert resulted in a 2-1 victory over the Warriors in the 2019/20 Betfred Cup group stage, goals from Paul Watson and Calum Butcher in quick succession securing the three points.

The first chance of the match fell the way of the visitors. A swarm of white shirts surrounded Jon Craig wide on the left and turned possession over, then fed Mochrie on the right edge of the area. The 18-year-old delivered a driven cross that found the advancing Walker behind the penalty spot, and his shot forced David Wilson to tip the ball over the bar for a corner.

After 15 minutes, the home side had dominated the majority of possession, but the United backline stood strong and coped with the frequent balls into the channel well.

United responded to Stenny’s early pressure by going in search of the opener themselves and, on the 26th minute, they almost found it. Hutchinson drilled a wonderful cross-field through ball towards Watson who burst beyond the hosts’ rear-guard. However, the forward’s loose touch allowed Wilson to close in, and the keeper smothered his effort from an acute angle. 

The Warriors again turned the heat up on United with a flurry of chances. The first saw Euan O’Reilly cross from wide on the right to the unmarked Ryan Tierney, who was left in splendid isolation just outside the United six-yard box, but the striker’s header lacked the requisite power to trouble Jack Newman between the sticks. 

Just three minutes later, the deadlock was broken by Stenny. Freeman was penalised after a strong challenge 30-yards from his own goal, and the resultant free-kick was clipped deep to the far post. The white shirts inside the area failed to deal with the first ball and a mis-hit shot eventually deflected into the path of Jamieson who thundered past Newman from close range.

In the 37th minute, the hosts doubled their advantage. A switch from O’Reilly found Ross Lyon in space on the right, and the full-back was allowed the time to whip a dangerous ball to the back post back for his colleague. O’Reilly nodded across Newman and Tierney was left with the simplest of tasks to roll the ball over the line from point-blank range, despite the best efforts of United skipper Neilson.

United went in search of a response, with the lively Watson driving at the defence and cutting in from the left before firing a shot goalward, a deflection taking the sting out of the youngster’s effort.

On the stroke of half-time, Asghar’s men were dealt what was, ultimately, a knock-out blow. An angled through-ball from O’Reilly found Orr behind the United line, and last-man Hutchinson brought the number nine down with a deft click of the heels just outside the box, leaving the referee with no option but to dismiss the defender.

Christie’s free-kick was struck with venom towards the postage stamp, United stopper Newman producing a save from the top drawer to keep the visitors in the tie.

The second half started slowly as United probed the League Two side’s defence for a route back into the game with little success, as the hosts were happy to resort to a resolute style of football to cope with the waves of attack they faced.

Walker looked to have given his side a glimmer of hope with 28 minutes to play when he slid the ball beyond Wilson from 14-yards after being released by Mochrie, only to see the linesman’s flag raised, cutting the tangerine celebrations short. 

As United pressed for an equaliser, gaps began to appear in their defence for Stenhousemuir to exploit. Tierney raced onto Nathan Cooney’s blindside to collect an inch-perfect through ball from midfield, Freeman on the cover sliding to block his well-struck shot. The rebound fell to ex-United man Robert Thompson who bounced his half volley into the turf, the ball trundling wide of Newman’s post

Asghar looked to the bench for reinforcements to try and rescue the tie, making a double change on the 77th minute that saw Fotheringham and Walker replaced by Shaun brown and Stuart Heenan, a winger and striker respectively.

However, two minutes later, the Ochilview side put the final nail in the tangerine coffin. Substitute Graham found space on the right edge of the area, and bent a brilliant, curling effort into the top left corner, leaving Newman helpless as the ball flashed over his head for 3-0. 

United again looked for a quick response to conceding. An exquisite pass from Flynn Duffy into the left half-space found the fresh-legged Brown, whose low cross took a nick off Reid into the path of fellow substitute Heenan. The striker took a touch to steady himself before side-footing towards the bottom corner, however, Reid recovered to deflect the ball wide for a corner.

Some fantastic combination play between Mochrie and Heenan by the corner flag created another opportunity for the visitors, with the former charging into the box and firing a shot narrowly wide of the left post.

Brown was the livewire for the away side in the closing stages, jinking past Michael Anderson with a well-executed step-over before floating a high cross towards Watson, who fired a shot back across the face that was turned goalward by Mochrie on the six-yard line. 

Heroic defending on the line from Craig Reid prevented United from grabbing a deserved consolation, as the centre-half somehow managed to turn the ball over the bar.

Heenan created the final chance of the 90, intelligently nicking the ball past Jamieson to go clean through on goal, but the pacey striker was too close to the Stenny keeper to elevate the ball over his head.

Referee Barry Cook’s whistle sounded after minimal injury time to conclude United’s assault on the Challenge Cup for the 2021/22 campaign, the 3-0 scoreline an unfair representation of how the match unfolded.