The Tayside Derby, (also known as the Tayside Trifecta) is a football rivalry based in Tayside. The matches are contested by the three professional clubs in the region:

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

and St Johnstone. A match between Dundee and Dundee United, whose grounds are in the same street, is referred to as a

Dundee derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared t ...

. St Johnstone are based in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, 20 miles from

. In seasons where all local derby matches were traditionally held on the same weekend (including at New Year), the Dundee derby would take precedence if all three clubs were in the same league, and any uneven number of Tayside teams would lead to one usually playing

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, who had no closer rivals geographically. Followers of the Dundee clubs generally consider their city rivalry as far more important than any relationship with St Johnstone, with Dundee captain Charlie Adam stating in 2021 prior to a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Zander Clark did not refute this outright but highlighted the increased travelling support typically brought to each ground for matches due to the close distance between Perth and Dundee, bringing more local interest into league fixtures particularly in seasons where the Dundee clubs are in different divisions and no city derbies are played.

Achievements

Between them, the three clubs have won thirteen major trophies (as well as finishing runners-up/beaten finalists 26 times across the three competitions), with St Johnstone's three triumphs all the most recent, but they are still behind the Dundee clubs who have each won four cups and one national league championship. In the season following their title wins, the Dundee clubs each progressed to the semi-final stage of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

(Dundee in 1962–63, United in 1983–84). Dundee also reached the semi-finals of the 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, while Dundee United were runners-up in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. St Johnstone have never made a major impact in

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

, although they qualified for Europe six times between 2014 and 2021, more than either Dundee club managed in the 21st century. All three clubs have endured spells in the second tier, but St Johnstone are the only club to have dropped into the third tier for a short period. Between them, they have won the second tier championship 14 times, and have lifted the minor

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2017–18.

Achievements by Tayside clubs

''Up to and including season 2024–25.''

Dundee United vs St Johnstone

*First meeting: 23 September 1911, 1911–12 Scottish Division Two *Next meeting: To be confirmed. By far the most famous meeting between the ''Terrors'' and the ''Saints'' was the 2014 Scottish Cup Final at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

, won 2–0 by St Johnstone to secure the first major trophy in their long history. In

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, the clubs met in the semi-final stage of the same tournament, Dundee United winning that match at East End Park to set up a final against

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

which they lost 4–3 after extra time.

Results table

''As of: 12 April 2025.''

Dundee vs St Johnstone

*First meeting: 4 October 1924, 1924–25 Scottish Division One *Next meeting: To be confirmed. Dundee v St

The two clubs met in the semi-final of the 1967–68 Scottish League Cup at Tannadice. Dundee won 3–1, but went on to lose the final to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. St Johnstone also lost out (in a replay) at the same stage of that season's

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dunfermline Athletic. Prior to that, Dundee's greatest triumph – winning the 1961–62 Scottish Division One, the only league title in their history – also involved heartbreak for St Johnstone, as the ''Dark Blues'', needing only a draw to secure the championship, won 3–0 at Muirton Park on the final day, a result which saw the home club relegated on

goal average A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

. ''Saints'' gained a small form of revenge many years later, with both teams in the second tier, when they won 1–0 at Dens Park to all but confirm their return to the top flight by winning the 2008–09 Scottish First Division (it was not mathematically certain at that point, although they eventually held a 10-point margin by the season's end).

Results table

''As of: 18 May 2025.''

Dundee United vs Dundee

*First meeting: 21 November 1925, 1925–26 Scottish Division One *Next meeting: To be confirmed, 2025–26 Scottish Premiership The city rivals contested the 1980 Scottish League Cup Final, held at Dens Park after lots were drawn. United's 3–0 victory was one of the early signs of them becoming a force in Scottish football along with

, with the two clubs' spell of success and relative geographical proximity leading to them being dubbed the New Firm, challenging Glasgow's

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

. Previously existing in Dundee's shadow, the United team built by Jim McLean had won the previous edition of the League Cup too, their victory over Aberdeen also played at Dens in a replay after a draw at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

; Paul Sturrock was a scorer in both years. Dundee United would win the league title in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, and once again it was Dens Park which was the scene of their victory, winning 2–1 over Dundee thanks to a memorable chipped goal from Ralph Milne to top the table by one point from Celtic and Aberdeen. They also came out on top 3–2 in the semi-final of the 1986–87 Scottish Cup between the teams played at Tynecastle Park, although lost the final to St Mirren. The ''Tangerines good fortune at Dens Park ran out in May 2016, however, as Dundee won the city derby 2–1 to confirm United's descent to the second tier.

Results table

''As of: 16 March 2025.''

Totals for three teams

''As of: 18 May 2025.''

Notes

References

External links

Soccerbase:
Matches between Dundee and St Johnstone

Matches between Dundee United and St Johnstone

Matches between Dundee United and Dundee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tayside Derby Football derbies in Scotland Dundee United F.C. Dundee F.C. St Johnstone F.C. Football in Dundee Sport in Perth, Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1911 Football in Perth and Kinross