1981–82 Dundee United F.C. season

Dundee United
1981–82 season
Manager	Jim McLean
Scottish Premier Division	3rd (UEFA Cup); W15 D10 L11 F61 A38 P40
Scottish Cup	Quarter-final
League Cup	Finalists
UEFA Cup	Quarter-final
	← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The 1981–82 season was the 73rd year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 1981 to 30 June 1982. United finished in third place, securing UEFA Cup football for the following season.

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 60 competitive matches during the 1981–82 season.^[1]

Legend

Win
Draw
Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first. Own goals in italics

Premier Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
29 August 1981	Aberdeen	H	4–1	10,598	Sturrock, Holt, Pettigrew, Bannon
5 September 1981	Greenock Morton	A	0–1	3,335
12 September 1981	Dundee	H	5–2	15,696	Sturrock (2), Kirkwood, Milne, Bannon
19 September 1981	Airdrieonians	A	1–2	2,687	Payne
3 October 1981	Hibernian	A	1–1	5,384	Dodds
10 October 1981	Partick Thistle	H	0–0	5,017
17 October 1981	Celtic	A	1–1	22,635	Milne
24 October 1981	St Mirren	H	0–2	6,364
31 October 1981	Aberdeen	A	1–1	11,035	Milne (2)
7 November 1981	Greenock Morton	H	3–0	6,264	Dodds (2), Kirkwood
11 November 1981	Rangers	H	2–0	16,138	Sturrock, Bannon
14 November 1981	Dundee	A	3–1	15,578	Sturrock (2), Milne
21 November 1981	Airdrieonians	H	4–0	6,157	Sturrock (2), Dodds, Bannon (penalty)
5 December 1981	Hibernian	H	1–0	7,257	Bannon (penalty)
16 January 1982	Rangers	A	0–2	15,743
3 February 1982	St Mirren	A	0–1	5,198
6 February 1982	Hibernian	A	1–0	6,133	Bannon (penalty)
9 February 1982	Airdrieonians	A	0–2	1,737
20 February 1982	Rangers	H	1–1	12,965	Sturrock
27 February 1982	St Mirren	H	1–1	7,663	Bannon (penalty)
10 March 1982	Dundee	H	1–1	13,790	McKimmie
13 March 1982	Partick Thistle	H	5–1	5,465	Dodds (3), McKinnon, Gough
20 March 1982	Aberdeen	A	1–2	12,056	Dodds
27 March 1982	Greenock Morton	H	5–0	5,333	Dodds (3),
31 March 1982	Celtic	H	0–2	15,173
3 April 1982	Dundee	A	2–0	12,602	Bannon, Sturrock
7 April 1982	Greenock Morton	A	1–1	1,792	Milne
10 April 1982	Airdrieonians	H	4–0	5,416	Bannon (2), Dodds, Milne
14 April 1982	Partick Thistle	A	3–2	2,997	Dodds (3)
17 April 1982	Hibernian	H	0–1	6,845
21 April 1982	Celtic	A	1–3	14,392	Dodds
24 April 1982	Rangers	A	1–1	9,415	Bannon (penalty)
1 May 1982	St Mirren	A	2–2	3,404	Bannon (penalty), Dodds
5 May 1982	Aberdeen	H	1–2	6,587	Hegarty
8 May 1982	Celtic	H	3–0	16,761	Hegarty, Sturrock, Milne
15 May 1982	Partick Thistle	A	2–1	2,680	Sturrock, Reilly

Scottish Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
30 January 1982	R3	Brechin City	A	4–2	4,348	Sturrock (2), Dodds, Kirkwood
13 February 1982	R4	Hibernian	H	1–1	10,735	Holt
17 February 1982	R4 R	Hibernian	A	1–1	11,039	Kirkwood
22 February 1982	R4 2R	Hibernian	A	3–0	13,759	Holt, Dodds, Bannon (penalty)
6 March 1982	QF	St Mirren	A	0–1	9,245

League Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
8 August 1981	R2	Ayr United	A	4–3	3,341	Bannon (3), Sturrock
12 August 1981	R2	Partick Thistle	H	2–0	5,926	Pettigrew, Sturrock
15 August 1981	G1	Motherwell	A	2–1	2,884	Pettigrew, Gough
19 August 1981	G1	Partick Thistle	A	2–1	1,805	Sturrock, Bannon
22 August 1981	G1	Ayr United	H	2–1	5,847	Holt, Fleeting
26 August 1981	G1	Motherwell	H	1–1	4,484	Pettigrew
2 September 1981	QF 1	Hamilton Academical	A	4–0	5,381	Dodds (2), Bannon, Holt
23 September 1981	QF 2	Hamilton Academical	H	5–0	3,512	Payne, Dodds, Sturrock, Reilly, Kirkwood
7 October 1981	SF 1	Aberdeen	H	0–1	13,824
28 October 1981	SF 2	Aberdeen	A	3–0	20,137	Sturrock (2), Milne
28 November 1981	F	Rangers	N	1–2	53,795	Milne

UEFA Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16 September 1981	R1 1	AS Monaco	A	5–2	7,609	Dodds (2), Bannon (2), Kirkwood
30 September 1981	R1 2	AS Monaco	H	1–2	12,013	Milne
20 October 1981	R2 1	Borussia Mönchengladbach	A	0–2	31,000
3 November 1981	R2 2	Borussia Mönchengladbach	H	5–0	15,330	Milne, Kirkwood, Sturrock, Hegarty, Bannon
25 November 1981	R3 1	FC Winterslag	A	0–0	9,500
9 December 1981	R3 2	FC Winterslag	H	5–0	16,232	Milne (2), Bannon, Narey, Hegarty
3 March 1982	QF 1	Radnički Niš	H	2–0	16,029	Narey, Dodds
17 March 1982	QF 2	Radnički Niš	A	0–3	15,000

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Aberdeen	36	23	7	6	71	29	+42	53	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3	Rangers	36	16	11	9	57	45	+12	43	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Dundee United	36	15	10	11	61	38	+23	40	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
5	St Mirren	36	14	9	13	49	52	−3	37
6	Hibernian	36	11	14	11	38	40	−2	36