IF THIS had been a protest by both sets of players against early kick-offs then it would have been devastatingly effective.
It took 71 minutes for anything of any note to happen, but Danny Swanson's opener seemed to carry a significance that extended beyond the fact that it set United on the path to victory in the race for third place in the SPL.
Swanson's skilful s
trike, after he picked up a loose ball and darted through a gap in the Motherwell defence to slide it past Graeme Smith, inspired wild celebrations among the United players. It was as if all the pent-up emotion of the previous week's CIS Cup final defeat to Rangers could finally be released, and it was appropriate that the celebrations were held directly in front of the newly-named Eddie Thompson Stand.
As for Swanson, his was a notable intervention on at least three counts. He had been on the pitch for just 40 seconds, and the goal came with his first touch of the ball; he re-wrote the script for a game that seemed to have "goalless draw" written all over it; and he introduced himself, and his extraordinary story, to a wider public.
The 21-year-old Swanson has taken a circuitous route to professional football. A plumber until January, when he signed from Berwick Rangers, he was born with a hole in the heart, had two operations, including a heart bypass as a child, then overcame doctors' warnings that he could never take part in sport to begin his football career with Leith Athletic Juveniles. Then he snapped his medial ligaments and endured a year out of football.
When he came back, barely 12 months ago, his form for Berwick Rangers caught the eye of several managers, including Craig Levein, and he joined the United squad in January.
After the game the manager described him as "the most talented player I've ever worked with" – which is some claim. "With the ball he can do amazing things," continued Levein. "But he needs a lot of work. If he was 6ft and robust he'd be playing every week."
Swanson, 5ft 6ins and around nine stone, confirmed he is "on a programme to bulk up". His goal yesterday, he said, was a blur. "I didn't see where the ball came from. I can't really remember what happened, I was that excited."
Levein said: "When the game is stretched, and people get tired, that's when he makes an impact – in a game where there's nothing happening."
Which was certainly true of yesterday. Levein awarded the football in the first half a quality rating of "two out of ten", which seemed generous. It was characterised by stray passes, sliced clearances, wasted free kicks and wayward throw-ins. An early chance that fell to Motherwell's Bob Malcolm – unmarked at the far post after a Ross McCormack free-kick from the left – seemed to be of little significance, until it later dawned that it had been the only clear-cut chance of the half.
There was more of the same for the first 26 minutes of the second half, though there were signs that United were starting to do the simple things – such as finding team-mates with five-yard passes – more effectively. "We did try and pass the ball in the second half," said Levein, though it wasn't patient possession that earned the breakthrough, but a flash of inspiration from Swanson.
Despite the home side's improvement, it could – and should – have been Motherwell who scored first, when a threaded pass from McCormack allowed Chris Porter to beat the offside trap. He bore down on goal but Lukasz Zaluksa did well to come out and block his shot.
Later, it was Mark de Vries who put the seal on it. Willo Flood found the striker in space, just inside the Motherwell half, and he charged forward, rounded the keeper and stroked the ball into the net with the outside of his boot.
Overall, though, it had been a shadow of these sides' last meeting, which was overshadowed by Phil O'Donnell's death, but which had seen Motherwell in scintillating form, beating United 5-3.
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee his side "learned a bit about ourselves". "We have to be more determined not to concede goals," he said. "We were just a bit too relaxed at times."
MAN OF THE MATCH: Danny Swanson was only on for 16 minutes but his goal lit up what had been a dreary game.
ASIDE: This was the first meeting of these sides since the tragic death of Phil O'Donnell. Prior to kick off the Motherwell players kicked footballs, inscribed with the date of the match and copies of O'Donnell's signature, into the crowd to acknowledge the support given by United, which included the entire squad attending his funeral.
The full article contains 817 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
