Tam Courts: Tony Watt’s first goal against former club was ‘written in stars’

Dundee United boss Tam Courts believed it “was written in the stars” that Tony Watt would score his first goal for the Tangerines against former club Motherwell at Tannadice.

The home side took the lead through a stunning Dylan Levitt first-half strike with Watt sealing the points after the break.

Overall, it was a memorable night for the Tangerines with Kevin McDonald making his debut for the club over a year since he last played because of kidney problems that eventually resulted in the former Scotland midfielder receiving a transplant.

And just before the end, Rory MacLeod came on to become United’s youngest-ever senior player at the age of just 16 years and six days.

Courts said: “I think tonight, it was one of those ones where if you actually believe in the magic of football, it was written in the stars for Tony to score.

“He’s been tremendous since he came, both off the park and on the park with his assists and performances. The only thing he was missing was obviously the goals.

“So with the story of Rory MacLeod becoming the youngest-ever debutant, Kevin McDonald playing his first game in well over a year and Tony Watt getting his goal, it’s a really strong night for us.

“Dylan’s goal was again a real moment of magic. As soon as the ball fell, you couldn’t have better handpicked someone for it to fall to. He caught it so sweet and it was another big moment in front of the fans.”

United had been booed on Saturday by their travelling support as they drew against 10-man St Johnstone but Courts admitted that’s just part and parcel of the game.

He added: “That’s the trials and tribulations of being a football manager. It’s a long season. The league over the last couple of months has become really tightly condensed.

“We came back into the new year and arrested a bit of a slump and resuscitated the team and got ourselves back functioning again.

“The next part of the challenge for the players tonight was to put a performance in and really excite the home fans.”

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander admitted his side are paying the price for missing opportunities.

He said: “It was a case of missed chances costing us at crucial times, definitely.

“We had some brilliant chances in the first half before they scored. But we were not clinical enough.

“But at the minute, away from home, we are not getting that first goal and we are not keeping clean sheets and that’s not a great recipe for winning games.”