Dundee 0
St Johnstone 1
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

Ten tired Muirton men trooped off Dens Park yesterday to the rapturous applause of their supporters. They beat the odds, as well as the home team, for they had to play 55 minutes without Derek Addison, ordered off after being booked earlier.

Conditions were atrocious. A howling wind made a mockery of passes, keepers' kicks did U-turns, controlled football was well-nigh impossible.

But Dundee can have no complaints about the result, and manager Archie Knox wasn't looking for excuses at the end

"Very disappointing," he said.

"I honestly thought we would win this one, after the way the players have worked for it, but we can have no excuses at losing.

"It was very apparent, right from the start that our players were apprehensive after their poor home results so far. It's a problem still to be solved.

"Of course the wind played a big part-but it was the same for both teams."

For St Johnstone boss Alex Rennie this was a great victory, especially after his side looked in deep trouble when Addison departed. "We battled it out well," was his tribute to the players.

Saints have now won three Premier games on the trot, narrowing the gap between Dundee and themselves to four.

They could be heading for the greatest escape act since, Houdini!

Dundee had the wind and slope in their favour first half, and obviously had most of the. pressure. But pressure in these conditions doesn't mean scoring is easy.

Saints found it possible to put together some good passes against the wind and had a few dangerous looking attacks, though Bobby Geddes's saves were few.

Still, Dundee could, and should, have cashed in. As early as the fourth minute a corner kick from Fraser curled in to hit the top of Baines' post.

Shortly after, Smith, upfield for another corner, mishit his header and the ball went wide. Baines dealt confidently with other efforts and, as Archie Knox said, his players did not look confident in their work, especially in finishing.

It was frustrating for both sides, and play became towsy. Ian MacDonald was booked for fouling Lyons, and for some reason, Derek Addison got het up about the incident, and he, too was booked for saying too much.

It was to prove costly for Derek. Eight minutes later he fouled Andy Geddes, and had to be ordered off.

So Saints were left with ten men, facing that gale for ten minutes of the first half. They passed the test with flying colours. The second half wouldn't be quite as daunting, surely.

And so it proved. Dundee. huffed and puffed without ever being convincing. Saints, I'm sure, would have settled for a draw, but clinched the points from a set-piece in 63 minutes.

Ex-Tannadice man Ian Gibson did the trick, hitting a free-kick expertly past the Dundee wall, and Bobby Geddes, from 20 yards.

The first goal in a game like this had to be crucial. Though Dundee had a lot of late pressure against a tiring Muirton ten, the visitors' defence never flinched. Roy Baines provided the right inspiration by his immaculate work in goal.

Dundee threw in both substitutes at different times- Kidd for McGeachie then McGlashan for Mackie, without denting the Muirton resistance.

In addition to Addison and McDonald, there were other bookings for Saints, McVicar and Lyons in the second half. Addison, as well as his automatic one-game suspension, is now over the points limit, and will serve more "time" in due course.

A sad day for Dundee, who have now lost six out of nine league games at Dens so far this season and are obviously suffering from confidence- failure at home.

A turning point, perhaps, for Saints. Three wins in a row cannot be written off as a despairing flourish by a team that looked doomed early in the season.

The New Year programme I will be vital for both clubs. Saints have Hearts at home on Saturday and travel to Pittodrie next Tuesday. Dundee's task is even more difficult-Pittodrie on Saturday, Dundee United at Dens on January 3.

It was a win at Tannadice, in early November, that set Dundee off on their best spell of the season. They badly need another boost like that!

Match report written by The Courier