A beautiful Sunday indeed
Where there’s a Will (Ferry), there’s a way.
A sold-out Tannadice, bathed in sunshine, set the scene for the final Dundee derby of the season. Sitting relatively comfortably in seventh place, there’ll be no last-minute drama for Dundee United, and the season is winding down. However, if there was one score that United had to settle before the end of campaign, it was this. After fumbling what had looked like a sure-fire 2-0 victory at Den’s Park last month, it was a chance for United to redeem themselves and to break a cursed home record against the wee team up the road. And, if there’s one thing about Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United squad, they love a redemption arc.
That wasn’t just in the minds of the fans, but in the minds of the team too. “How we drew the game at Dens six weeks ago was a bitter pill to swallow for everybody,” manager Jim Goodwin said. “I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t mentioned a few times in the build-up. We really wanted to make amends.”
Team news leading up to the fixture wasn’t exactly encouraging. Loanees, fan favourites and, more crucially, previous Derby scorers Luca Stephenson and Amar Fatah would miss the fixture and indeed the opportunity to finish their seasons at United due to respective hamstring injuries. Stephenson appeared on the pitch before kick-off to say his goodbyes to the United support for the final time. After two incredibly successful seasons, leaving to rapturous applause from a support who have adored him, the 22-year-old will return to parent club Liverpool to figure out what the future has in store for him – though, and we’d expect nothing less, he would be seen in celebrating in the tunnel with his teammates at full time.
However, this derby would turn out to be all about another man: Will Ferry. Our Vice Captain would find the back of the net twice – at least one of those on purpose – and tee up a fine header for Ryan Strain to kill off the game with a clean sheet intact. Did anyone have that on their coupon?
Ferry’s grit and determination to kick on has been an incredibly important part of United’s positive performances over the past two seasons, and that was before the wing-back discovered his penchant for putting away goals of his own — scoring his first United goal in a hugely enjoyable 2-0 win against Celtic in March. Asked where four goals in four games have come from, Ferry joked: “I don’t know, I’m prolific.”
While his tongue was firmly in his cheek, Ferry is undoubtedly United’s strongest and most consistent performer, and his season will end on a personal high. Watching him on throw-ins, corners and free kicks — with a scout for Charlton Athletic in the crowd to watch it all too — you can’t help but wonder how United begin to replace him if he is courted away in the summer. But, when you’re celebrating a derby victory, that has to be a worry for another day.
The first 45 minutes was relatively competitive. Ferry opened the scoring account in almost slapstick fashion when a shot from Zac Sapsford cannoned off his knee and deflected in off the post in agonising slow motion. A few minutes later, Iurie Iovu sprang into action to deny Dundee an equaliser, heading a cushioned volley from Luke Graham over his own crossbar after it had made it past the gloves of Dave Richards.
Rivalries were briefly set aside in the 16th minute to pay tribute to Dundee fan Lennon Thomson, who passed away just a few days before the derby. Lennon, who lived with cerebral palsy, was just 16 years old when he died and the minute of applause in his honour was a poignant reminder that both sides of the street will always come together when it counts.
Next Neil Farrugia came within inches of his first United goal with a low effort which was parried onto the woodwork by keeper Jon McCracken. Dundee’s Joe Westley did find the back of the net shortly before half time, but his effort was ruled out for a handball near the goal line and put Dundee supporters back into their seats as quickly as they had leapt out of them.
The second half remained on a knife-edge until the final third. A headed effort from Vicko Sevelj went inches over the bar. However, soon after, Ferry found the net again – this time in a significantly more deliberate fashion. Left wide open at the edge of the box, the Vice Captain collected a long pass from Sevelj and sent it effortlessly passed keeper McCracken, who watched the ball fizz past him as though his feet were nailed to the ground.
Two minutes later, it was Ferry again. Charging down the left flank, he left Westley in his dust to play a clipped cross to Ryan Strain who headed in his first goal for United. Strain, unable to find his partner and newborn daughter in the stands to celebrate with, settled for taunting Dundee supporters instead.
United fans who, having become overly with the team’s tendency to come undone in the dying minutes, masked some nervous excitement as the clock ticked down by asking Simon Murray to remind them of the score. When a last-gasp Yan Dhanda free kick spilled from the hands of Dave Richards and landed at the feet of Murray, Dundee looked almost certain to claw a goal back. However, some quick thinking from substitute Dario Naamo saw the ball safely back into the hands of Dave Richards and kept United’s clean sheet intact. Remind us of that score again, Simon?
It doesn’t get much better than this. With the last home game of the season against Livingston, whose relegation fate will almost certainly be sealed by then, the atmosphere of a sold-out home support basking in the glow of 3-0 victory against their nearest and dearest rivals feels like the best way to say goodbye to the class of 25/26. As Goodwin put it: “You can see how much it meant to supporters, I’m glad that the players could show the fans that it means just as much to them.”
And man of the match Will Ferry couldn’t resist taking a jab at the way the wee team up the road celebrated their 2-2 ‘victory’ a few weeks ago. “As much as we’re happy, we’re not going to celebrate like we’ve won the Champion’s League as some teams do,” the wingback said. “We’re just going to keep going to the end of the season and try to be as professional as possible.”
🥇Man of the match: Will Ferry. Our Vice Captain, trusty wingback, and soon-to-be top goal scorer.
🥈Runner-up: Despite only arriving in January, Emmanuel Ageyi comfortably looks like United’s best signing of the 25/26 season and looked like he very much enjoyed his first derby win.
🏅Honourable mentions: Ryan Strain has had a torrid season and struggled to get back in the squad after injury, so his maiden goal for United and subsequent Dee-riling celebration was a nice moment for him and the fans.