Dundee United and Motherwell had to settle for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw after an entertaining Premiership contest at Tannadice.

Steelmen skipper Lukas Fadinger gave his side the lead from the penalty spot, with Jesse Randall equalising for the home side before the break with a moment of magic.

Neither side could find a winner in the second half but United have now extended their unbeaten run to seven games to remain sixth in the table while Motherwell stay ninth.

The Steelmen took the lead in the ninth minute. Tawanda Maswanhise tumbled in the home box under a challenge from Dylan Tait but the linesman's flag went up for offside.

However, referee Ryan Lee was called over to the pitchside monitor by the VAR Andrew Dallas and decided to award a penalty. Fadinger stepped up and sent United goalkeeper Jack Walton the wrong way.

Shortly after, United were claiming for a penalty of their own when Zac Sapsford went down in a challenge with Emmanuel Longelo but the whistler flashed a yellow card at the Terrors striker for diving.

Maswanhise then created an opening of his own, embarking on a barnstorming run but his shot flew straight to Walton, who easily gathered.

Motherwell's Ibrahim Said was next to try his luck from 22 yards but again his effort was straight at Walton and then Sapsford hit a snap-shot that was well saved by the visitors' goalie Alexander Paulsen.

Walton was called into action again in the 28th minute when Tom Sparrow found Longelo inside the United box with the defender hitting a shot into the ground that the keeper had to acrobatically tip over, before Daniel Bennie went close at the other end with a header.

Paulsen then made two smart saves in quick succession from shots by Lyall Cameron and then Tait.

However, the keeper could not prevent United equalising in the 41st minute when the ball found its way to Randall inside the Motherwell box and with his back to the goal, the New Zealander produced a cheeky backheel that flew past Paulsen.

Randall had another chance at the start of the second half but this time his composure deserted him and he blasted well over the bar.

Longelo then found himself in a promising position but his curling shot was deflected for a corner.

The hosts hit back with Bennie cutting in from the left before striking a fierce shot that was well blocked by Motherwell defender Martin Moorman.

There was a big scare for the hosts in the 62nd minute when Bert Esselink was robbed of possession by Seb Palmer-Houlden but the striker's shot flew just over.

It was United's turn to threaten next with Michael Forbes producing a powerful header that was cleared off the line by Moorman.

The hosts had a great chance to snatch a winner in the 87th minute but Josh Rawlins completely fluffed his lines just two yards with Randall then coming close with a shot.