DUNDEE, Scotland (Interstat) — Dundee United opened its Scottish Premiership campaign with a comeback 2-1 victory over Saint Mirren on Tuesday afternoon at CalForth Construction Arena at Tannadice Park, overcoming an early deficit with two second-half goals.

The result defied a pregame projection from Interstat, whose simulator had forecast a 3-2 win for the visitors. Its ELO rating system had given the home side a 66.5 percent probability to win.

Saint Mirren, the visiting side, stunned the home crowd in the eighth minute. Substitute Marcus Fraser, who had entered the match early, found the net to give the Buddies an unexpected lead. The goal stood as the only tally of a first half largely controlled by the visitors, who successfully frustrated Dundee United’s attempts to build attacking momentum.

The complexion of the match shifted dramatically just before halftime. In the 46th minute, Saint Mirren midfielder Emmanuel Agyei was shown a yellow card, a harbinger of the pressure to come. One minute later, Dundee United found its equalizer. Midfielder Amar Ahmed, who would be instrumental throughout, provided the assist for fellow substitute Jake Young to score, sending the teams into the break level at 1-1.

Ahmed took center stage after the restart to complete the turnaround. The midfielder, who had also assisted on the leveling goal, scored himself to put Dundee United ahead 2-1. His influential performance was tempered by a yellow card in the 66th minute for a challenge.

Saint Mirren struggled to mount a sustained response after falling behind. Their efforts to push forward for an equalizer were disjointed, and they failed to seriously test the United goalkeeper in the latter stages. The match grew increasingly tense as it entered stoppage time, where Dundee United substitute Miguel Freckleton received a yellow card in the 91st minute. The final whistle confirmed a winning start for the hosts.

With the victory, Dundee United begins its Premiership season with one win and no losses. Saint Mirren starts with no wins and one loss. The records in all competitions mirror the league results for both clubs after this opening fixture.

The match underscored the impact of substitutions and midfield control. Ahmed’s goal and assist proved decisive, while United’s bench contributed directly with goals from Young and the early substitute Fraser, though Fraser’s strike came for the opposing side. The disciplined second-half performance from the home side, after Ahmed’s go-ahead goal, sealed the three points against a Saint Mirren team that faded after a promising start.