In the opening minute of the fourth-round match at Dens Park, the Dark Blues striker gave them the victory over Dundee.
Simon Murray would want to go and break another 115-year curse by leading Dundee to Scottish Cup victory after helping to end a 69-year one.
After the striker’s derby goal in the opening minute was sufficient to eliminate Dundee United from the Cup and secure their spot in the fifth round against Airdrie, the Dark Blues are feeling quite happy. The last time Dundee defeated their opponents in the Scottish Cup was in 1956. Murray would love a run of glory that would create even more history and witness Dundee hoist the cup for the first time since 1910. He helped put that to rest.
The life-long Dee fan admitted: “The manager told us about how long it has been since we’d beaten United in the Scottish Cup in the build-up to the game. He mentioned it, told us it was a record we can put right because it was a long, long time.
“It’s good to get that done and you saw what it meant to the fans at the end. There was a sense of relief, not just for finally ending that run, but also because United threw the kitchen sink at us towards the end.
“Winning a cup is the dream, but we want Dundee to be stable in the league and consistently place in the top six.” All my life, I had dreamed about it.
“The cups are the primary goal we can pursue because it’s difficult to win the league in this country. It would be an incredible accomplishment because no one has witnessed Dundee win the Scottish Cup in a long time. That would be incredible.
This is the 32-year-old’s second stint at Dundee. He said that one of his favourite Dens Park moments was scoring his glory winner. Murray is building a collection because he also won the 2017 Hibs derby against Hearts.
“Was this my best night wearing a Dundee shirt?” asked Murray. To be honest, it’s on par with everything else in my career. Being able to score the derby winner ranks among my favourite football moments.
“With friends and family around, it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s okay; you must take advantage of these occasions when they arise. I experienced the same thing at the Edinburgh Derby.
“I scored in the previous derby, but we lost, so that took the edge off of it.” Since it bit me in the ass the prior time, I made an effort to remain composed after scoring this time. I just wanted to continue because I thought the boys were great.
Murray is very much one of the leaders of Tony Docherty’s gang. The Dundonian knows their recent success is built on togetherness. He explained: “We showed a real togetherness, especially when our backs were against the wall.
“I was absolutely knackered after it and everyone else was the same because we put so much into it. You see the talent we have, we have Seun (Adewumi), Lyall Cameron and loads of others.
“There is a real belief we can compete against any team at the moment so why not have a little cup run and give the fans something We have got consistency in performance and togetherness. You can see it when we make last-ditch tackles, the boys are celebrating.
“You can see people throwing themselves in front of everything. We look a totally different team from the start of the season but we also know what happens in football if you take your foot off the gas for a second.”
Dundee’s reward for seeing off United is a home tie against Championship strugglers Airdrie. Murray knows there is plenty of football still to be played before then but there will be no complacency from their camp when that game comes along.
“Airdrie will be a tough tie; no fixture is easy,” he said. However, any home draw is advantageous because we have recently demonstrated our ability to compete with anyone.
There is a match against Celtic over the weekend before that. Arne Engels’ penalty in the 93rd minute saved a point for the champions at Dens Park, and Dundee came very close to a historic victory against the Hoops earlier this month. After this derby victory and draws with Rangers and Celtic, they will be confident going into Celtic Park.
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