Dundee United and the Escape from Victory

When the post-split fixtures were released, they were ideal for Dundee United. It quite literally could not have gone better. At the time, each of the teams had:

St. Johnstone (A) - Worst home record in the league.
Ross County (H) - Third worst away record in the league.
Livingston (A) - The only "sticking point" but United hadn't lost to them away this season.
Kilmarnock (H) - Worst away record in the league, by far.
Motherwell (A) - Third worst home record in the league and they have nothing to play for.

Not only that, we had just won three games in a row and were 4 points above automatic relegation. Finally, it was beginning to look up for United this season...

From the first three fixtures, we've amassed 0 points. First losing away to the team with the worst home form in the league, who hadn't won in eight games (also against Dundee United).

Next came the capitulation to Ross County, in front of the largest home support of the season. A goal by Ross County after 38 seconds seemed to set the tone, but United came right back into it, utterly dominating the first half but only managing to go in to the break at 1-1. Ross County came out the second half looking to win and did so, easily.

And finally, in what seems to be the final nail in a coffin comprised mainly of nails was a meek defeat away at Livingston. The first goal by Livingston typified our season - it wasn't even the tiniest sniff of a chance for Livingston but our goalkeeper conspired to turn it into an open-goal. For the seventeenth time this season. *(See below for bonus goalkeeping rant).
Oh, and our only good player this season got himself sent off for dissent.

Next up is Killie at home, and as a damning indictment of the teams around us, we're somehow still in it. They have a single league away win all season, and in the previous home tie for United, we annihilated them 4-0. I can't wait to see how we'll screw this one up. It's taken an astonishing effort to do so badly so far.

*Without meaning to venture into the world of libel, I'd sooner believe that Mark Birighitti is getting paid to concede than to have someone so incredibly incompetent be a professional goalkeeper. Replace him with Siegrist and United are comfortably mid-table, despite all of the shortcomings of the side. He is, without hyperbole, the worst adult footballer I have ever seen at any level of the game. Countless times this season he's allowed a shot straight at him whizz by, failed a punch at a corner or made some other brain-dead mistake that cost a goal. Livingston had the ball in the net for a second time shortly after their first, but VAR ruled it out for offside. Birighitti literally did not move.
Somebody on Twitter posted a compilation of some of his finest moments. Bear in mind this at best 50% of his mistakes this season: https://twitter.com/releaseMcCracke/status/1660045662136745986

But apart from that things are looking fine.