Dundee United 3-0 Greenock: Hosts book Scottish Premiership play-off semi-final against Falkirk

Dundee United brushed-off Greenock Morton 3-0 in their Scottish Premiership play-off second leg to book a semi-final tie with Falkirk.

Winning the tie 5-1 on aggregate, Simon Murray, Wato Kuate and Blair Spittal scored the goals in a second-half flurry to move one step closer to promotion.

With a slender 2-1 lead from the first leg, Murray finally broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute with a close-range finish, before recently-signed Portuguese midfielder Kuate drove in a wonderful second from distance

Spittal added a third with a confident finish and Ray McKinnon's United will host Falkirk on Tuesday before the away leg to their Championship rivals on Friday.

The Greenock side started the game determined to claw back the deficit and in the sixth minute, striker Kudus Oyenuga flashed a 25-yard drive wide of the target after being gifted possession by United midfielder Willo Flood.

The Terrors responded and Thomas Mikkelsen's low drive was saved by Morton goalkeeper Jamie McGowan, before fellow attacker Murray's angled-shot on the turn from 14 yards slipped past the far post.

Another effort from Mikkelsen flew just over the bar before McGowan made a fantastic leaping save from Tony Andreu's header in the 37th minute, after the Ton defence had failed to deal with a long free-kick from Stewart Murdoch.

It was Murdoch's cross from the right into the box early in the second half which led to the opening goal.

Under pressure from Mikkelsen, Morton skipper Thomas O'Ware headed straight to Murray who rifled it past McGowan from eight yards for his 16th of the season.

With a two-goal deficit in the tie to recover, Morton had to push forward and just before the hour mark Oyenuga headed an Aidan Nesbitt cross over from six yards out.

But it was effectively all over when Kuate, signed last month until the end of the season, delivered a wonder strike.

The 21-year-old midfielder, a former Manchester City youth player, stunned Morton with a thunderous left-footed strike from 30 yards which gave the flailing McGowan no chance, with Spittal volleying in number three in the 81st minute from a Murray cut-back to seal the win.