An epic second half fight-back failed to bring brave Dundee Unrted victory In last night's UEFA Cup Final second leg at Tannadice. It was the Taysiders' second cup final letdown in five days. Yet they could so easily have come back from the dead to become the first Scottish club to win the trophy.

United got no reward for 45 minutes of almost unbeleivable effort in the second half. They needed some luck, but it was their classy Swedish opponents who got most of the breaks. The Scots appeared to have blew their chance when they conceded a goal to Gothenburg striker Lennart Nilsson after only 22 minutes. There seemed simply no way Jim McLean's weary troops could muster a new effort in their 70th competitive game of the season. BUT SOMEHOW, FROM SOMEWHERE THEY DID PRODUCE A SECOND HALF PERFORMANCE OF SHEER GUTS.

McLean took the huge gamble of throwing big John Clark up front with three other forwards. He also begged them to give it one last shot after losing the Scottish Cup Final so dismally to St. Mirren on Saturday. How well his team responded. Gothenburg lifted theUEFA Cup for the second time in five years. But when they did they knew they had been forced to overcome a superhuman effort by 11 exhausted men. It was Clark, wfth his fourth European goal of the season, who took United to the edge of a miracle.As soon as he moved forward there were signs that the Swedes were not as sure and steady as they had appeared throughout the first half. He forced Glynnn Hysen, tipped for Manchester United, to concede an anxious hand-ball just outside the box. Clark, who had started the game at centre-half, thundered in the free-kick with tremendous power, but Thomas Wernersson held it firmly.

But in 60 minutes Wemersson had no chance of stopping Clark as he tried again. And suddenly United had their foot on the first rung of an impossible ladder. Iain Ferguson played a low cross from the right across the face of the penalty area. For such a bulky man, Clark showed superb control as he turned away from a defender before hitting a left-foot-shot, fiercely into the net at Wemersson right-hand post.The Scots powered forward and at least twice after that they could have been rewarded.

In 71 minutes Paul Hegarty, a second half substitute for John Holt, swung a free kick high into the box. That man Clark headed it on a Kevin Gallcher, under pressure from Wernersson, just failed to keep his shot down, the ball clearing the crossbar. When Dave Narey came forward for a comer in 79 minutes he was pushed by Stefan Pettersson and the guilty Swede turned in terror to see if Rumanian referee lona Igna would give a penalty. United could go no closer to the Swedes. But there was no shame faced departure of supporters as there was from Hampden on Saturday. This time they stayed to cheer the side who had done so much to enhance Scotland's reputation since they started out on the-long road to the final in France last September. The second half heroics were in sharp contrast to the opening 45 minutes when United looked good only early on.

The capacity crowd almost had a goal to cheer after only five minutes. Gallacher, showing deterinination to take on defenders, crossed from the right and Billy Kirkwood attempted to flick the ball over Wernersson into the net. BUT THE SWEDISH KEEPER DESPERATELY CLAWED THE BALL AWAY. It all looked so encouraging, but then Gothenburg took complete control. Billy Thomson blocked a fierce shot by Pettersson in 13 minutes after John Holt headed out a Tommy Holmgren free kick. The warning signs were there and in 22 minutes the Swedes struck to go two ahead on aggregate. Once again, as in the Scottish Cup Final, there was a point of controversy involving a big game goal, Paul Sturrock seemed to be obstructed in the Gothenburg half, but referee Igna took no action. The ball-was played to Lennarrt Nilsson who beat Clark as he cut inside before hammering the ball inside Thomson's near post.

United so nearly scored again when Clark headed on a Hegarty free kick and Gallacher knocked the ball just over the top.

Dundee United: B. Thomson, Holt, Malpas, McInally, Clark, Narey, Kirkwood, Gallacher, Ferguson, Sturrock, Redford Substitutes: Bowman, Hegarty, Beaumont, Bannon, S. Thomson.

Goteburg: Wernersson, Carlsson, Hysen, Larsson, Fredriksson, R. Nilsson, Tom Holmgren, Andersson, Tord Holmgren, Pettersson, L. Nilsson, Substitutes: Tobiasson, Mordt, Johansson, Zetturland, Rantanen.

Ref: I. Igna (Romania)

Attendance: 20,911