Positives to take for Saints despite 3-1 defeat

St Andrews United hosted Dyce Juniors in a friendly for the first time since the summer of 2013 and the home team began the match strongly.

The Saints players were wearing their new black and white strips and they took the game to Dyce straight from the start, whilst shooting down the hill.

Debutant Derryn Kesson certainly caught the eye during the opening stages and he set up the first goal of pre-season as Jordan Mackenzie calmly slotted the ball past visiting goalkeeper Morgan Cook.

Kesson then fed the ball to Sawers on three separate occasions with defence-splitting passes, which the latter fired past the post, and he was also involved in a good move that ended with Jordan Mackenzie missing the target.

Mackenzie subsequently squandered another opportunity a few moments later but the United fans in the crowd were expecting a comfortable victory at that point.

Unfortunately, Dyce equalised in the 25th minute when Sam Robertson found the net from 35 yards with a shot that Jacob Kerrigan was disappointed not to save.

Saints’ new under 20’s goalkeeper then conceded another goal in the 33rd minute when a shot from Michael Bruce deflected off Kyle Sneddon and looped over his head.

However, St Andrews United’s young forwards continued to press throughout the second period and they created several more chances as a result.

Sawers hit the bar on the hour-mark and the bustling Mackenzie was unlucky with a couple of efforts that tested Cook.

Nik Rendall also missed the target with a close-range header as United piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser yet the Dyce strikers looked dangerous on the counter-attack as they forced Kerrigan into making a couple of routine saves.

The only goal of the second period came at that end of the park when substitute Damon Collins added his name to the score-sheet in the 90th minute.

The final score did not seem to reflect the pattern of play throughout the afternoon but United manager Robbie Raeside will have learned a lot about his squad following a worthwhile run-out.