Match of the day

I’m in Dundee today for the Dundee derby.

It’s my first time back at Tannadice since before the pandemic.

As readers know I’ve supported United since 1969 when my family moved to Scotland.

I was ten at the time and for the next seven years - before I went to university in Aberdeen - I went, usually on my own, to the majority of United’s home fixtures.

The only away match I went to in that time was a Dundee derby at Dens Park, home of Dundee, and it didn’t go well.

Dundee won 6-4 but it wasn’t a close game because the home side was 5-1 ahead at one point.

Unlike Celtic-Rangers the Dundee derby is not driven by religious bigotry.

It’s true that Dundee United, founded in 1909 by Irish immigrants living in Dundee, was originally called Dundee Hibernian and played in green and white.

It’s true too that when my father innocently mentioned to a work colleague that I supported United, his colleague queried why I supported the ‘Catholic’ team.

But that was the late Sixties. Today any attempt to introduce a religious element into the rivalry is angrily dismissed by supporters of both clubs.

Another difference is that families in Dundee tend not to be exclusively ‘United’ or ‘Dundee’. Nevertheless, on match day the rivalry between supporters can be pretty fierce.

The video below is one of the best of its kind. Filmed by a teenage football fan (a neutral Dunfermline supporter), it encapsulates the excitement in a way you rarely see on television because the cameras aren’t close enough to the crowd.

This match, two years ago, was won by United 6-2. Today I’d be happy enough with 1-0!

Update: Fancy that. Poor game, two very average teams, but United won 1-0. I’ll settle for that.

I wasn’t too keen on the midday kick-off but I’m writing this post match, mid afternoon, from a pub in the city centre, which is quite nice because the rest of the day is mine.