St Mirren 0-3 Dundee United: Jim Goodwin enjoys winning return to the dugout
Report as Dundee United mark Jim Goodwin’s return to the dugout with a commanding 3-0 win at St Mirren as Jesse Randall, Lyall Cameron and Kevin Ciubotaru strike in the first half.
Saturday 19 September 2026 20:50, UK
Dundee United marked manager Jim Goodwin’s return to the dugout with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of St Mirren in Paisley.
All three goals - from Jesse Randall, Lyall Cameron and Kevin Ciubotaru - came in the first half with United also benefiting from the decision to downgrade Daniel Bennie's red card to a yellow.
It was the perfect matchday return for Goodwin, following a recent health scare, against his former club, who slumped to a third league defeat in a row after failing to register a shot on target.
St Mirren made three changes from the side beaten by Rangers in their previous outing. In came Eseosa Sule, Paul Nsio and Killian Phillips, with Nikolas Agrafiotis, Chris Mochrie and Louis Jackson dropping out.
United also made three switches to the line-up. There were starting berths for Zidane Iqbal, Randall and Idjessi Metsoko, while Pan Camara, Mehdi Merghem and Zac Sapsford all made way.
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It took United just six minutes to take the lead. Bennie played in Randall and, as Calvin Ramsay and goalkeeper Jacob Chapman hesitated, the forward rounded the goalkeeper to finish.
The home side tried to respond quickly but Fraser Taylor's shot sailed high over the stand and, instead, it was United who doubled their lead after 12 minutes. Metsoko picked out Cameron, who cut in from the left wing and his low shot beat Chapman.
Saints looked to have been handed a way back into the contest when they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Bert Esselink on Phillips, but after a long VAR check the decision was overturned due to offside in the build-up.
The home side were struggling to get into any sort of rhythm although Nsio came close with a powerful shot that struck the top of the crossbar and went over.
United looked like they were set to be reduced to 10 men late in the first half when Bennie made a crude tackle on Ryan Carr, but after a VAR check the sanction was reduced from red card to yellow.
The visitors took advantage of that let-off by scoring a third goal just before the break. Randall played in Ciubotaru and he fired his effort past Chapman.
It was United who still looked more likely after the turnaround and Dylan Tait was only denied a fourth by a strong Chapman save.
The visitors were then denied by the offside side flag after Lachlan Rose had slid Randall's cross beyond the goalkeeper.
