Motherwell 5
Dundee 3
League (Premier League)

Match Report

Dundee went down 5-3 to Motherwell in a vastly entertaining match at Fir Park.

Injury doubt Barry Smith was on the bench as Dundee got back to league action after the CIS Cup semi final defeat. There was a debut for German under-20 international striker Sebastian Kneissl, while Tom Hutchinson was back to start his first match since December 20th.

Nacho Novo and Clarkson had early chances but on 11 minutes the two new boys combined to give Dundee the lead. Fotheringham's ball down the right was raced onto by Kneissl and he squared for Barrett to net from six yards.

The lead didn't last long though and the 'Well were level four minutes later, Clarkson cut in from the left and sent in a ball at which Burns had a fresh air shot, but Lasley, running in, netted.

Novo came close to restoring the lead moments later, taking a pass from Brady, and hitting a shot from the edge of the box narrowly wide, but it was the home side who grabbed the lead in 18 minutes, Burns cut inside and fed Dair who's left foot shot gave Speroni little chance.

Neil Barrett appeared to grab his second in 28 minutes with a header from Brady's flighted free kick, Nacho Novo lashed the ball high into the net to make sure and was given the credit by the referee.

Lee Mair came to the rescue on the half hour as Clarkson steadied himself to pull the trigger, the Aberdonian's tackle just inside the box being superbly timed. Kneissl went close with a diving header from Novo's driven cross seven minutes from the interval, but his effort was high.

The German was again involved in 42 minutes when he challenged Marshall with the keeper losing the ball but Milne's follow up effort was off target.

Barrett was putting in a lot of work and his goal was fitting reward for a first half display which showed renewed confidence.

The second period was only two minutes old when Motherwell regained the lead.

Adams did well to recover after stumbling as he raced in on goal, the ball broke to Burns as Speroni challenged Adams and he found Clarkson who rolled the ball home from the edge of the box.

Speroni was in action straight away to deny Burns, blocking with his legs as Dundee appeared certain to fall further behind, but in this ding-dong battle, it was Dundee who would score next, Nacho Novo pouncing to net from close range in 58 minutes.

Yet again, parity was short-lived, the Dark Blues falling behind quickly as Burns netted after Dair had sprung the offside trap in 62 minutes. By now fog was beginning to roll in and Kneissl, who had faded after a bright first half, was replaced by Steve Lovell.

Dair hadn't scored for Motherwell before this match but he grabbed his second of the evening in 74 minutes when he ran onto McDonald's lay off and fired past Speroni.

Jim Duffy brought on Barry Smith for Barrett and shortly afterwards Steven Robb replaced Milne.

John Rowbotham upset the home side after waving away a penalty claim with five minutes to go and Dundee could have upset them further as Fotheringham's shooting chance on the break saw him fire just wide.

Match report written by Dundee Matchday Programme