Dundee United manager Craig Levein was pleased at how well his side handled the artificial surface at Recreation Park in their 2-0 win over Alloa Athletic on Tuesday night.

First-half goals from Andis Shala and David Goodwillie took United safely past the Irn-Bru Second Division side in their Co-operative Insurance Cup second-round tie.

Levein, who dismissed reports he is looking to take former United midfielder Willo Flood back from Celtic on loan, said: "With the artificial pitch, we could have slipped up but we were pretty focused for the whole match. The surface isn't grass but they get better each time a new one is brought out."

He added: "Replicating what the ball does on grass isn't easy but they are getting there.

"We passed it well. Our game plan was to try and get the ball in behind because Goodwillie's movement and pace was the big asset for us.

"Some of the passes were long passes but they were accurate and he scored a goal from one of them.

"I was happy to get through without any injuries and happy with a lot of the performances.

"It was really tight early on and we didn't look like we were going to open them up but there was good quality from Craig Conway's corner and Andis gets us in front and the game changes after that.

"Goals alter people's mind-sets and it relaxed us a bit."