Dundee 0
Ross County 1
League (Division One)

Match Report

Jocky Scott surprised the fans with his team selection today. Gary Mackenzie was serving the last match of his suspension, and Eddie Malone replaced Kyle Benedictus in central defence with Craig Forsyth moving to left back. Darren Young came into the midfield, and most surprisingly Leigh Griffiths was on the bench with Pat Clarke starting.

The first half was a tedious non-event with neither side able to create a single good chance. The best Dundee could do was send a few good balls into the box, but no-one was on hand to take advantage County had some reasonable long range shots, but none close enough to worry Douglas till they took the lead after 44 minutes.

A corner was scrambled clear by McMenamin as far as Lawson, and from 20 yards he hit a fierce shot that Douglas looked to be saving till it took a wicked deflection to send the ball beyond the keeper's dive The strikers had been having a difficult time, admittedly with poor service, and it was no surprise when Griffiths started the second half in place of Clarke.

Griffiths pace and skill gave the Dundee attacks some urgency at last, but it was County who came closest to scoring when Douglas did well to save a flick from Gardyne, who then wasted a good opportunity when he shot weakly after a good run into the box.

Eddie Malone had been carrying an injury from the first half and he was replaced by Benedictus soon after half time. At last the game was providing some entertainment as play started to stretch out, with Dundee pressing and County looking dangerous on the break

Andrew Shinnie came on for the last 20 minutes, and he perked up the team, but sadly the midfield was having a dreadful day and were unable to open up County.

Dundee didn't have a clear chance till the 81st minute when Eric Paton floated a good cross to the back post. Gary Harkins arrived late with a strong run and his powerful downward header was well saved by McGovern who had to react quickly to grab the ball before Griffiths arrived.

Dundee were incapable of putting County under serious pressure after that and the game drifted to a conclusion with the away team holding on comfortably.

County fully deserved their victory. Teams have come to Dens this season and played better football but lost. County were extremely well organised, hard working, and crucially didn't give the ball away as often as Dundee. Time again Dundee lost possession when players tried to run at County rather than building passing moves. Too often players took the easy option of just hitting

the ball at Harkins or Griffiths, even if they were in a poor position, and hoping they could conjure up some magic. The midfield failed to get forward and support the strikers, who often headed wide into space and then found that no-one had made a run through the middle. This was a game which was screaming out for a home player to step up and take charge. It never looked likely to happen.

The defence had a reasonable game, and Rab Douglas was impeccable in goal, dealing impressively with crosses. He had only one real save to make and had no chance with the deflected goal. None of the midfield or strikers would have been able to look the manager in the face and claim their performance was good enough.

Two weeks ago at Dundee twice walked the ball into the Dunfermline net after good passing moves. Today the players gave up on the passing game too quickly and settled for too many wildly optimistic "World Cup" passes and runs. It was nowhere near good enough.

A win would have sent Dundee 12 points clear of County. The gap is now only six points. The Staggies will feel they have a good chance of closing the gap with their three games in hand. After this dismal performance by Dundee their confidence would be justified.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website