Dundee United's respect for Hibs was catalyst for Capital win, says Tam Courts

A goal from Nicky Clark just before the interval was added to by Ryan Edwards and Kieran Freeman in the second half as the visitors romped it at Easter Road to go third in the Scottish Premiership – a stark contrast to the 3-1 defeat inflicted on the Terrors by the same opponents in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final last month.

“It was a really enjoyable game to watch today, almost an extension of the game at Tannadice: two good teams going at it,” a satisfied Courts said afterwards.

"The timing of our first goal was really helpful coming just before half-time – it goes in, shapes my team-talk, and from there the boys were really tactically aware, disciplined, and capitalised on some key moments in the second half.”

Asked if he was happy that Hibs had had very little to offer in the final third, Courts replied: “Happy because we actually respected Hibs’ threats, and I think we put quite a lot of emphasis on nullifying them and trying to build on the performance level we got against Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup tie.

"Today was about trying to marry the two because I think we got the performance level at Tannadice but a couple of decisions went against us and Hibs were clinical in that game.

"We had a bit of a breakthrough on that night from a performance perspective and that’s probably why the boys have got the confidence to perform the way they did today.”

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