It was never going to be 1966 and all that, nor the heaven of 1987, but Dundee United last night came within one agonising minute of remaining proudly unbowed against the might of Barcelona.

It had seemed not even the combined efforts of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o would be sufficient to begin the Catalans' two-match tour of Scotland with victory.

Then, in the 89th minute of a roundly entertaining encounter, Darren Dods was judged to have tripped Giovanni dos Santos and Craig Thomson, the referee, awarded a penalty.

Henry's initial attempt was blocked by the impressive Grzegorz Szamotulski, the Polish goalkeeper signed from Sturm Graza, but the £16.5m signing from Arsenal was able to mark his Barcelona debut by knocking in the rebound.

United's previously unblemished record of four wins out of four against Barcelona, over memorable Fairs Cup and UEFA Cup ties, was described by Frank Rijkaard as a "wonderful detail" of footballing history. Thomson will be cast as the villain for tarnishing it with non-competitive defeat, especially as he ruled out an 82nd-minute Barry Robson header for a nudge on Eric Abidal.

The fact that only the centre-back partnership of Lilian Thuram and Oleguer Presas started and finished the match perhaps gave lie to the seriousness with which Barcelona approached their task, as the new season in Spain is still four weeks away. United's players, though, can draw great confidence and satisfaction from going toe-to-toe with some of the globe's most expensive and lauded talents for so long.

The 14,000-capacity crowd inside Tannadice lapped up every minute of it and were sent into a ferment during injury time when Lee Wilkie's header appeared destined to equalise before Juliano Belletti arrived from nowhere to clear.

After days of publicity in which their stellar presence has delivered the warmth of almost Hollywood glamour to a drab Scottish summer, Barcelona ensured their cast list did not disappoint viewers either at Tannadice or on Setanta Sports' live coverage.

The magical Ronaldinho, fresh from a beach holiday while his Brazilian compatriots lifted the Copa America, was in the starting line-up alongside Eto'o. Henry right began on the bench, although Lionel Messi, the final member of the fearsome attacking quartet dubbed the Fantastic Four', has been allowed to recuperate at home after international exertions with Argentina.

The Tayside public were enraptured by their esteemed visitors, applauding them on to the field for a pre-match routine in lurid blue sweatshirts quickly dampened by the drizzle. Henry and Deco lingered near the touchline, drawing admiration for a game of keep-ball composed entirely of little back-heels. A blast of The View and trails of flying toilet rolls provided a Dundonian fanfare for Barcelona's entrance proper, before United raucously got to work. There were early echoes of past glories when Craig Conway was presented with a premium opportunity to have Victor Valdes scrambling around the back of his net, but the midfielder, slashed wildly off target.

There was then the vaguely surreal sight of Wilkie powering in to rob Ronaldinho of possession before suddenly being presented with a clear path forward. The giant centre-back galloped down it, but Valdes rushed out to block bravely. Wilkie, though, patently relished the entire occasion, even incorporating the odd flash of fanciness into his own footwork as he cleared his lines in unorthodox fashion.

He was stout alongside Dods at the heart of the home defence, yet chances for the Catalans were simply a talent-driven inevitability. Ronaldinho was fouled by Morgaro Gomis in a central position 20 yards out and prepared to crack the direct free-kick as the stand behind the goal glittered with numerous camera flashes. The attention clearly put off the Brazilian. His swerving attempt from minimal back-lift was only accurate enough to thud against Szamotulski's right-hand post.

Ronaldinho displayed his unequalled lightness of touch with numerous little probes and dinks. He was involved in a move which saw Eto'o back-heel for Santiago Ezquerro, whose shot was pushed wide by Szamotulski. Eto'o then twisted himself out of a prime scoring chance before Szamotulski blocked brilliantly from the Cameroon internationalist.

Members of the 1966 and 1987 United sides paraded at the interval, when the sight of Henry warming up in full kit indicated his imminent arrival. He was one of seven Barcelona alterations for the second period, becoming the centre-point of a new attack flanked by the prodigious talents of teenagers Bojan Krkic and dos Santos.

Henry almost scored with his first significant touch before having his ankles rapped by Wilkie's studs. The challenge brought a rueful grin from the Frenchman and, somewhat harshly, the first yellow card of the night from Thomson. Szamotulski twice blocked Bojan as the half unfolded, before that frenetic finale condemned United to defeat. Still, friendlies don't count, do they?

  • Dundee United Szamotulski; Dillon, Wilkie, Dods, Kalvenes; Flood (Bauben 67), Kerr, Robson, Gomis (Robertson 72), Conway (Robb 60); Hunt. Subs: McLean, Duff, Proctor, Kenneth, Goodwillie, Russell
  • Barcelona Valdes (Jorqeura 46); Zambrotta (Belletti 46), Thuram, Oleguer, Sylvinho (Abidal 46); Xavi (Deco 46), Iniesta (Crosas 76), Toure (Motta 65); Ezquerro (Bojan 46), Eto'o (Henry 46), Ronaldinho (Giovanni 46). Subs: Valiente, Maxi, Dimas, Olmo Referee Craig Thomson