Dundee United made it through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Charlie Miller shot the visitors into a third-minute lead which was doubled seven minutes from the interval by Craig Easton.

The home side's make-shift defence, with Derek Townsley filling in at centre-half, looked vulnerable throughout and United coasted through the second period.

The home side were weakened by suspension, injuries and the recent departure of Ged Brannan, and looked extremely hesitant and nervous in the early stages.

United seemed to sense this and attacked straight from kick-off, and there was little surprise when they took the lead after only three minutes.

Charlie Miller worked a one-two with Jim Hamilton and raced through the heart of the Motherwell defence to slot the ball past keeper Andy Goram.

The visitors took great confidence from their goal and looked to expose the fragile Fir Park defence with some neat one-touch football.

In the 25th minute, United were denied what looked like a clear penalty after Ange Oueifio bundled Miller off the ball in the Motherwell six-yard box.

To the anger of the United players and their small band of supporters, referee Stuart Dougal waved play on.

Minutes later Motherwell had a rare attack and United keeper Paul Gallagher pulled off a great save from Stuart Elliot who looked certain to score with a six-yard header.

But United escaped and in the 38th minute they doubled their lead after exposing the frail home defence once again.

Derek Lilley evaded Steven Hammell in the Motherwell penalty area and rolled the ball along the six-yard box for Craig Easton to score a simple tap-in.

After only a minute of the restart, United nearly added to their lead following good work by Lilley down the left.

When the striker's cross came over, Miller sent a powerful header in from six yards, but Goram reacted brilliantly to save.

The visitors always looked dangerous in attack and Townsley in the Motherwell defence looked particularly vulnerable.

However, United were keen to protect their lead and made sure their defence was solid, which consequently meant Motherwell struggled to create any opportunities.

In the 68th minute, 17-year-old Jamie McCunnie came close with an effort from 16 yards after Miller had put him through.

The young defender's shot was just wide of Goram's left-hand post and the home side were once again let off the hook.

The closing stages saw the visitors play out time to guarantee them a safe passage through to the next round.

Teams:

Motherwell: Goram, Corrigan (Dempsie 72), Oueifio, Townsley, Hammell, Adams (McFadden 56), Lasley, Leitch, Twaddle (Nicholas 67), Spencer, Elliott.

Subs Not Used: Wood, Ramsey.

Booked: Spencer.

Dundee Utd: Gallacher, Griffin, De Vos, Lauchlan, Aljofree, Easton, Miller, Hannah (Smith 86), McCunnie, Hamilton (Thompson 82), Lilley (Naveda 82).

Subs Not Used: Onstad, Buchan.

Booked: De Vos.

Goals: Miller 3, Easton 38.

Att: 6,186

Ref: S Dougal (Scotland).