Lifeless tie not a draw for purists

Dundee United 0

Kilmarnock 0

"WE ARE staying up" chanted the Ayrshire club's supporters following a draw which maintained their unbeaten record against United this season.

If anything, Kilmarnock were the better team in a contest which verged on the lifeless rather too often for the liking of either manager.

The draw did no harm to the survival prospects of Jim Jefferies' side, who will go into the post-split fixtures with renewed vigour, but United must surely improve on their home record if they are to play in Europe next season.

They haven't won at Tannadice since beating St Mirren 3-2 on January 24 and at no stage yesterday did they look like ending that sorry sequence.

Paul Dixon's dismissal for a professional foul on Danny Invincibile four minutes from the end will not wash as an excuse for their uninspired display.

United were ragged at the back, plodding in midfield and their strikers were starved of ammunition.

Killie were forced to start without in-form striker Kevin Kyle, who sustained a hamstring injury in training.

Perhaps surprisingly, given that the home side were still in the hunt for a Europa League place and the visitors have yet to guarantee their SPL status for next season, both sets of players were slow to come out of the blocks.

United forced a series of corners without troubling Alan Combe while Invincibile appealed for a penalty, claiming he had been fouled by Garry Kenneth, only for referee Willie Collum to award a foul against the striker.

Craig Bryson and Craig Conway both missed the target with long-range attempts but there was little for purists to enthuse about.

Indeed, it took 26 minutes before a save was made, Lukasz Zaluska parrying Bryson's stinging 25-yarder.

That appeared to galvanise Kilmarnock and Invincibile came close, shooting into the side netting after a Fernandez drive ricocheted into his path.

Gavin Skelton should certainly have been awarded a penalty eight minutes from the interval when Kenneth took the legs from him without making contact with the ball.

The decision to allow play to continue so incensed Killie's assistant manager, Billy Brown, that he had to be persuaded by Collum to refrain from directing his abuse at assistant referee Wes Boulstridge.

Simon Ford, who had been struggling with a groin problem, failed a half-time fitness test and was replaced by Frazer Wright.

United, perhaps fired up by the fear of having to face manager Craig Levein again at full-time after a similarly ineffectual performance, at least seemed more lively after the restart and

Paul Caddis finally forced a save from Alan Combe with a low drive.

It proved a false dawn as Kilmarnock continued to play the neater football, although they were occasionally undone by a tendency to over-elaborate.

The longer the match progressed, however, the more it looked as though both sets of players were content to settle for a point apiece.

Dixon managed to quicken the pulse with a raking left-foot shot which rippled Combe's netting but, unfortunately for the full-back, the ball ended up on the wrong side of his post.

In spite of employing Craig Conway in tandem with Danny Swanson for the final half-hour United were unable to get behind the Kilmarnock back four.

When Warren Feeney left the field to be replaced by Andis Shala in the 79th minute, it was very possibly the first time most of those present had noticed the Irishman had been on in the first place, so little service did he enjoy.

Fernandez did well to carve out an opening for Taouil but his low, swerving shot was well held by Zaluska.

Substitute Willie Gibson almost made a game-changing contribution with a through ball for Invincibile. The Australian cut across Dixon, who clipped his heels as he did so.

As last man, Dixon simply had to go, although even then Mr Collum appeared to act on the instruction of his far-side assistant, Derek Rose, rather than the evidence of his own eyes.

Gibson also managed to find the time to be shown a yellow card by the official, following an altercation with the United technical area. It was a show of passion somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the afternoon's proceedings.