A finish of sheer raw courage failed to produce the result Dundee United deserved last night at Tannadice. They cannot take even the most slender of leads to West Germany in two weeks - but it was not' for lack of trying. The Scots- were comprehensively outclassed in the first half and it seemed there was no way they could become the first Scottish side to reach the UEFA Cup final. Yet in the last seven minutes United found a burst of form that should have brought a reward. It didn't - but United's persistence must surely worry Borussia as they approach the second leg. It began when goalkeeper Uwe Kamps made the save of the match from second-half substitute Kevin Gallacher, diving to his left to push the ball away from goal.

Two minutes later came the biggest moment. of controversy in the entire 90 minutes. Gallacher passed to lain Ferguson who calmly prodded his shot under Kamps and into the net. But as the £140,000 striker turned to celebrate United's salvation, reteree Marcel Van Langenhove pointed to his stand linesman's upraised flag. It was a touch and go decision and severe bad luck for United. But there was no way the Belgian match officials would change their decision. Rank bad luck continued to plague United as they tried to overcome that bitter blow. John Holt was sent crashing in the penalty box but no spot kick was given. FINALLY, A TREMENDOUS SHOT BY IAN REDFORD RAGED PAST KAMPS AND BATTERED AGAINST HIS RIGHT-HAND POST.

There had seemed no chance of United coming so close to gaining a lead after a disappointing first half. Only a single Redford shot which flew over gave them any real hope of success - but there was plenty of threat from the slick Germans at the other end. Twice in the space of two minutes United were desperately close to conceding' the away goal they had dreaded. Criens left Maurice Malpas trailing on a run on the right and played 'the ball towards a team-mate in the middle. It struck Paul Hegarty a couple of yards from goal and flew for a corner with the defender knowing little about it. Billy Thomson, who had fought to be fit for the game, proceeded to drop a cross by Bruns and Hegarty.was fortunately on the line to make a desperate clearance from Frontzeck. From the start of the second half United showed an immense improve ment. In 50 minutes Ferguson drove- the ball into the net only for Sturrock to be pulled up for offside. The Germans did continue to pose some threat and Thomson had to make his best save in 64 minutes, rushing out to block a shot by Criens after Hochstarier had put him through the middle. At no point did. Borussia show any indication of being worried about return ing to the ground where they had Iost 5-0 in 1981.

But United's big finish did cause them concern and the fact that United did not concede a goal is one positive pointer for the return on April 22. Borussia will have "to play that game without the hard-tackling Hans-Georg Drehsen. He was booked for an over-thc-ball tackle on Dave Narey in the first half. It was his second yellow card of the competition and he now faces a one-match ban.

Dundee United: B Thompson, Holt, Malpas, McInally, Hegarty, Narey, Ferguson, Clark, Bannon, Sturrock, Redford Substitutes: Beaumont, Gallacher, Bowmen, Kirkwood, Main