Scottish Premiership: Dundee United 0 Hamilton Academical 0 - Dundee's Simon Murray sent off for diving twice

The Scottish Premiership play-off was no nearer resolution after this deadlocked affair at Tannadice, where the flashpoint was the dismissal of Dundee United’s Simon Murray for what was judged to be two incidences of simulation inside the Hamilton box. The first yellow card was justified, but his second caution looked misjudged because the forward’s trailing leg was definitely caught by Scott McMann.

Hamilton, too, were reduced to 10 men in the closing stages when Doug Imrie limped off after a collision with Cammy Bell, the United keeper. Masssimo Donati, too, is doubtful for Sunday’s return in Lanarkshire.

Memories of play-off success were shared between both sides. This match fell on the third anniversary of Hamilton’s return to the Scottish Premiership after a melodramatic encounter with Terry Butcher’s Hibernian. Beaten at home in the first leg, Accies travelled to Easter Road as emphatic underdogs but an early goal by Jason Scotland prompted anxiety in the Hibs ranks, whose nerves were shredded when Tony Andreu equalised three minutes into stoppage time, to take the tie to a penalty decider which Accies won 4-3.  

Andreu, after an undistinguished spell at Norwich with the former Accies manager, Alex Neil, who supervised that promotion success, found himself facing his former club in the United midfield on an idyllic evening for football on Tayside. Bathed in warm sunshine, each teams demonstrated swiftly that the game would be taken to the other, in United’s case to immediate effect when a dynamic Thomas Mikkelson thrust along the left flank was halted robustly by Massimo Donati.

Donati, who was playing in place of the injured Accies skipper, Mike Devlin, was fortunate not to be cautioned for his intervention. The duly incensed United fans were agitated further just after the half hour when Murray spurted into the Hamilton box, where he went down smartly, only to be shown a yellow card by Steve McLean for simulation.

Between times, the crowd was treated to an expansive game which produced clear openings at both ends. Rakish Bingham was a prominent participant, first when he broke up a United foray from defence to make for the byeline to cut back for Danny Redmond, dead in front of goal but so close to Bell that the goalkeeper was able to make a vital block.

Bingham himself was sprung free behind the United back line by an astute pass from David Templeton and the English striker should have scored when he went one on one with Bell, only to place his effort straight at the keeper. Accies’ wastefulness invited punishment but United were unable to prosecute their case successfully and the interval arrived scoreless.

That situation might have changed midway inside the final quarter hour when Murray was toppled by McMann inside the box for a clear penalty kick, only for the striker to be sent off to the incredulity and fury of the United support and management.