Dundee 0
Dundee United 2
League (Premier League)

Match Report

The threadbare state of Dundee's first-team squad was clinically exploited by neighbours United in the 104th league meeting of the clubs last night.

Although they competed reasonably effectively during the middle third of the game, the Dark Blues, missing skipper Barry Smith as well as Willie Miller, were beaten fairly comfortably by a Tannadice side which for much of the 90 minutes was streets ahead in midfield, in control at the back and far superior up front.

Goals from strike pair Billy Dodds and Steven Thompson, who celebrated his 21st birthday last Thursday, ensured United departed Dens Park still unbeaten there in 10 years and back in third top spot, much to the delight of manager Paul Sturrock.

"The first-half hour tonight was probably the best we have played all season," he said.

"The 17-day break we had prior to the St Johnstone game I felt showed then, but here there was a blend and a flow about us.

"My younger players had been showing indifferent form and the foreigners struggling with the pace of our game but it looks as if they are now beginning to understand what we are looking for shape wise.

"I thought Doddsie was majestic but there were others who weren't that far behind him, including Steven Thompson, who is starting to become less individualistic and more part of the team."

Dodds's display will have done his chances of facing England in next month's Euro championship play-off no harm at all, but the former Dundee striker claimed club rather than country was uppermost in his mind.

"Everyone is on their toes with the England games coming up because there's so much at stake and every one wants to be part of it," he said."

"But there's no use worrying about whether you are going to be involved or not. You just have to get on with playing for your club. "We've not been playing that great of late but tonight we passed the ball and did everything right. That was a good feeling.

Rather gallingly for Dundee, they are still without a home point to show from five attempts since revamping their stadium in the summer. And boss Jocky Scott had no quibble with the justice of this latest reversal.

"The game was lost in the first half hour when we allowed them to take the initiative," he admitted.

"Losing Barry, who hurt an ankle in training on Friday and could be out for a fortnight, and Willie, was a blow and the reshuffle that forced upon us didn't help but I'm not going to make excuses.

"They were the better team for the first 30 minutes and from there on it was a unphill struggle for us. We huffed and puffed for a spell in the middle of the match but never really got in behind them or created a clear cut chance."

United also showing changes from the side that beat St Johnstone in the cup, albeit with the omission of Raphael Bove and Tassos Ventis from the starting line up, unlike the loss of injury victim Jim Paterson through choice-wasted no time in probing for weaknesses in Dundee's recast rearguard.

And such was the visitors' dominance of the opening stages that it came as no great surprise when the Dark Blues four man defence comprising Lee Sharp on the left, a central pairing of Lee Maddison and Lee Wilkie and, rather surprisingly, Steven Tweed on the right-gave up a goal after 14 minutes.

Recalled winger Hugh Davidson was the architect of the counter, skipping away from Gavin Rae before feeding Dodds, who found himself with time and space 14 yards out, to curl the ball into the far corner with the aid of a deflection off Sharp.

The fact that it took Dundee 33 minutes to secure their first corner said everything about the way the match had gone for them up to that point.

They did, though, improve the longer the half went and three minutes from the break might have snatched an unlikely equaliser when Alan Combe dived full length to keep out a Willie Falconer effort which, having been driven into the ground, looked like getting the better of Combe as it reared up.

That was a foretaste of what was to come at the start of the second period at least as far as the Dark Blues taking the game to United was concerned.

The only problem was the home side just couldn't put the ball away something, crucially, their opponents did for a second time three minutes after the interval.

Maddison, stealing in at the far post, just failed to connect with a Steven Boyack free-kick, James Grady completely miscued from a Boyack cut-back and, when Combe dropped the ball after substitute Roberto Matute got the faintest of flicks to a Sharp cross, the keeper was fortunate not to hand Dundee a lifeline as Jocky Scott's outfit strove for a breakthrough.

With much less of the ball, however, the Tangerines did enough to make safe the points courtesy of Thompson's second ever league goal. Thompson, whose only previous SPL counter came in a 3-1 win at Dens earlier this year, found himself with only Douglas to overcome after being released by Dodds and he duly drilled a shot under the body of the Scotland squad keeper, who looked a little slow to get down.

Referee John Rowbotham, whose handling of the fixture was excellent, booked Craig Easton (foul on Grady) and Gavin Rae (persistent fouling).

Match report written by The Courier