Dundee United vs Aberdeen: Hosts clinch European spot after Scottish Premiership win towards Dons

Dundee United clinched a European position after leapfrogging Aberdeen into fourth position within the Scottish Premiership with a surprising 2-1 comeback win.

Danish attacker Jeppe Okkels scored his first function for the Dons since signing on mortgage from Preston in January after 15 mins with the guests controlling the sport.

United steadily got here again into it and within the 56th minute defender Declan Gallagher levelled with a header from a Glenn Middleton nook.

Striker Sam Dalby put United forward with a penalty within the 62nd minute and when the mud settled at the ultimate day of top-six fixtures – and there used to be an unseemly pitch invasion through house enthusiasts on the ultimate whistle – Jim Goodwin’s males, again within the height flight this season, completed fourth which brings a possible Europe League qualifying position.

Aberdeen are in a position to swipe it again in the event that they win the Scottish Cup towards Celtic subsequent week, albeit the champions failing on the closing hurdle of any other home treble is a long-odds prospect.

St Mirren fought out a commendable 1-1 draw with Celtic at Parkhead however that used to be no longer sufficient to forestall them completing 6th.

Both aspects went into the sport suffering for shape.

The Taysiders had suffered 4 successive post-split defeats whilst Aberdeen had misplaced their closing 3 video games, together with a 5-1 thrashing at Celtic.

Jimmy Thelin’s aspect, although, had secured European soccer ahead of the sport they usually had the primary actual effort on function within the 7th minute with United keeper Dave Richards turning a 20-yard force from Pape Gueye previous the submit.

As the Dons stored the house aspect penned within the field from the nook, midfielder Jamie McGrath smacked the bar with a shot however United survived the following scramble.

But Aberdeen quickly went forward when midfielder Leighton Clarkson despatched captain Graeme Shinnie racing down the left together with his move to start with defended through Richards and Gallagher with reference to the goalline.

Alexander Jensen picked up the unfastened ball, on the other hand, and lower it again for Okkels to boost the ball top into the online from 10 yards.

The lacklustre guests steadily labored their long ago and within the 39th minute Aberdeen keeper Dimitar Mitov made a tight save from Sam Cleall-Harding’s force from distance, ahead of Vicko Sevelj’s move used to be headed simply previous the submit through Dalby.

Within mins of the restart United’s Kristijan Trapanovski headed a move from Will Ferry into the bottom and over the bar from six yards.

At the opposite finish, Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet took an incisive move from Clarkson and with time and house curled a shot over the bar when he should have a minimum of hit the objective.

The house aspect stepped it up and compelled a chain of corners and sooner or later Gallagher leapt within a packed six-yard field to go in.

Then referee John Beaton pointed to the spot when Ryan Strain used to be fouled within the field through Okkels amid heavy Terrors’ force and Dalby despatched Mitov the improper approach together with his spot-kick.

The momentum of the sport had swung utterly and Mitov, after a deficient kick to Dalby, needed to block an effort from change Louis Moult.