Dundee United captain Ross Graham has admitted the hurt of his stoppage time own goal in the Dundee derby played a big role in driving their impressive 2-0 win over champions Celtic at the weekend.
The 25-year-old delivered a standout performance at the centre of defence at Tannadice on Sunday, as second half goals from Will Ferry and Emmanuel Agyei dealt a major blow to Celtic’s title hopes, while also keeping United’s faint chances of a top six finish alive.
In stark contrast to how he felt the week before, Graham revealed he struggled to face being out in public after the dramatic 2-2 draw in the Dundee derby at Dens Park, where his side conceded twice in stoppage time, including his own 96th minute own goal.
“After the derby, it was rock bottom,” said Graham. “It’s always difficult. especially being around the city. You can’t help but bump into fans of both teams. So, I tried to keep my head down, out of the way. It’s hard to describe how I was feeling. I’ve never felt that way before in football. I’m thankful to the gaffer for sticking by me.
“He knows that these things can happen in football. Although, it doesn’t help that it was one of the biggest games of our season in a derby. The boys were lifting my spirits straight away and we always know in football, you’ve always got a game the next week to change things.”
With two blocks, 13 clearances and the majority of his aerial duels won, Graham responded to his derby setback in perfect fashion. The result leaves Celtic five points behind league leaders Hearts in third. At the same time, United remain six points off sixth placed Falkirk, but the win gives Jim Goodwin’s side a slim chance of securing back to back top six finishes ahead of their final two fixtures against Rangers and Livingston before the split.
“Whenever you play Celtic, the defence and the whole team need to be switched on defensively and maintain the structure,” said Graham. “We did that. We know Celtic want to get the ball down and play, so we thought we’d press them high and be aggressive, especially on that pitch. It can take a few bad bobbles and stuff like that. So, we were brave in our press and we nipped the ball off them on multiple occasions. I thought the boys executed the game plan down to a T.”
