Jim Goodwin admits Dundee United’s narrow 1-0 win over UNA Strassen at Tannadice means it is “still very much game on” in the second leg of their Conference League qualifier.
A new-look United side found the Luxembourg minnows no easy opponent in the first half of their second qualifying round clash but debutant Zac Sapsford’s 47th-minute strike made the difference and gives the Taysiders an advantage going into the return game.
Boss Goodwin spoke of the pros and cons of the game, saying: “We’re pleased with the clean sheet and we scored a really good goal, Zac showed a bit of quality to turn and it was a wonderful strike.
“I think there are certain elements we need to do better in.
“We turned over possession far too cheaply which led to counters but defensively we were very good.
“There were certainly moments in the game where we need to improve. I thought when we did move the ball quickly and found pockets we looked a threat but we’ve left at least a couple of goals out there.
“(Vicko) Sevelj had a great chance but credit to the keeper who made a good save.
“(Owen) Stirton also had a chance and the keeper made a good save onto the post. We’d rather be sitting here with a 3-0 advantage but at 1-0 it’s still very much game on.
“The disappointment is more the fact we didn’t do ourselves justice in the second half.
“Our possession on the ball, we didn’t move it quickly enough. We were too sloppy and we’ll try to improve those things.
“It’s still very early days for this new group of players but there’s a lot to work on going into next week.
“It’s the first chance for the players to play in front of a near enough full house here.
“We’ve had a terrific pre-season and played some really good football but there’s a difference between friendlies and competitive football where there’s more pressure.
“We’ll learn. I don’t mean to sound all doom and gloom I’m just disappointed we didn’t make the tie more comfortable.”
One negative was Max Watters picking up an injury soon after coming on as substitute in the second half, which meant he had to be taken back off.
Goodwin said: “We’ll assess that tomorrow after he took a knock on the knee.”
UNA Strassen coach Veldin Muharemovic was in the main pleased with his side’s performance.
He said: “At the end we can be satisfied with the score. The players have now seen their opponents physically.
“You can analyse on TV but you can see they have a huge physical difference especially their three defenders.
“We know better what we need to do in the second game to get a reaction.
“The most important thing is the players know they have the confidence to beat a team like this.
“We have some days to analyse the details and to confront this team.
“We don’t have a lot of experience of this high level but step by step it’s coming in a good way.”
