St Mirren sealed a much-needed first win in 12 matches after making the perfect return to action after the winter break.
The Buddies blew off the cobwebs early as youngster Jay Henderson fired the hosts deservedly in front, putting the finishing touch on a lovely one-pass move with a fierce strike into the top right corner.
And Eamonn Brophy doubled their lead on the hour mark, tapping home at the back post to mark his return from a hamstring injury with a bang.
The Terrors threatened a comeback when Alan Power turned Kieran Freeman’s cross into his own net from close-range.
But the Buddies held firm to seal a vital first three points since mid-October, returning from the interval in style ahead of a trip to face Ayr United in the Scottish Cup this weekend.
There was a worrying sign for St Mirren fans when the team lines were announced with star man Jamie McGrath a very notable absentee.
The Ireland international has been heavily linked with Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic this week, with the playmaker’s future looking increasingly to lie away from Paisley.
On a more positive not there was a substitute spot for new signing Alex Greive, who found himself on the bench after sealing his switch yesterday afternoon.
It was set to be up to Kristian Dennis to lead the line for the Buddies at Tannadice, but the striker pulled up in the warm-up meaning
Brophy found himself thrust back into the thick of the action from the start after recovering from a minor hamstring tear over the winter break.
New Dundee United addition Tony Watt had to make do with a spot on the bench after completing his move to Tannadice, with Marc McNulty up front for the hosts.
Saints youngster Jay Henderson found himself restored to the right flank after impressing against both of the Old Firm before the winter break, with boss Jim Goodwin hoping to utilise his pace down the wing.
The visitors forced a couple of early corners as they probed down that side of the pitch, but were unable to trouble Benjamin Siegrist.
Henderson cleverly drew a foul from Scott McMann as he looked to break forward, with referee Alan Muir dishing out the first yellow card of the game within the opening ten minutes.
Greg Kiltie latched onto a flick from Brophy before unleashing a fierce long-range effort that tested the reflexes of Siegrist, with the stopper beating the effort away to keep the scores level.
St Mirren had started brightly and found an important breakthrough after 15 minutes. Alan Power played a clever ball through to Henderson, who flicked a first time pass to Kiltie before turning in behind the defence.
Kiltie produced a lovely through ball to slip in Henderson, who clinically slammed an unstoppable strike past Siegrist into the top right hand corner of the net.
Saints thought they’d doubled their lead just five minutes later when another excellent Power pass set up Kiltie on the edge of the box. His low strike slipped underneath Siegrist, but the linesman eventually flagged for a very marginal offside call with Brophy standing in the keeper’s line of sight.
McNulty’s scuffed shot from 25 yards saw Jak Alnwick finally called into action, with the St Mirren keeper a virtual spectator in the opening period.
The Paisley side’s defence were in imperious form, snuffing out every attack Dundee United mustered with Charles Dunne particularly impressive in the first half.
The Terrors did scare the travelling fans when Charlie Mulgrew’s deft flick from a Dylan Levitt free-kick drew a superb reflex stop from Alnwick, with the former Newcastle stopper beating the ball away from close-range to keep the visitors in front at the break.
Wolves loanee Connor Ronan saw a hopeful effort blocked soon after the restart, before Dundee United had a promising chance to level from a free-kick in a dangerous area.
Scotland international Charlie Mulgrew stepped up and curled a powerful effort goalwards that Alnwick dived down low to push away to safety.
The hosts were pressing much more early on in the second half, with manager Tam Courts’ instructions likely still ringing in their ears.
Power went into the book for a cynical block on Ilmari Niskanen as he looked to break down the left wing.
The Saints were under the cosh and were grateful to see Mulgrew’s close range effort from the resulting free-kick flash just wide of the post thanks to an important touch from Alnwick, with the Terrors claiming for a penalty shortly after as a shot struck the arm of Power.
Dundee United unleashed their new weapon Watt with half an hour remaining, with the former Motherwell man looking to make an instant impact for his new club.
But seconds later it was the Buddies who doubled their lead. Some slick passing found Kiltie wide on the right side of the box, with the former Killie man finding Brophy at the back post who tapped home his sixth Premiership goal of the season.
The impressive Kiltie, thriving in McGrath’s absence, almost made it three when he swivelled inside the box before firing narrowly wide of the right hand post.
United passed up a perfect opportunity to halve the deficit when McNulty blazed over the bar from a perfect position just outside the six-yard box.
The hosts did manage to grab one back when Power bundled into his own net after substitute Kieran Freeman sent a dangerous cross into the box from the right wing.
That gave the home fans hope as they pressed for a late leveller, with the Buddies tiring as the second half drew to a close.
Alnwick came to the rescue again to push away a decent Freeman effort, with Mulgrew blasting over from distance as the Terrors' desperation began to show.
And the Buddies held on to a huge three points, with Greive coming on to make his debut late on to help his new team see out the victory.
