Greenock Morton 0
Dundee 1
League (First Division)

Match Report

Dundee continued their fine run under new manager Barry Smith with a hard working, but unspectacular, win at Cappielow. Matt Lockwood scored the only goal from the penalty spot after an hour.

For once Dundee looked surprisingly toothless up front and created few good chances in open play. The defence, however, was solid throughout and dealt comfortably with Morton's late pressure.

Although the first half was very even Morton had by far the better chances. The best two fell to Brian Graham, who made a horrible mess of both. Each time they chance arose from Dundee losing possession as tried to play the ball out of defence. Damen Young picked up the ball the first time. His fierce shot from 18 yards was well saved by Douglas. Graham seemed sure to knock in the rebound, but mishit his shot wide to the horror of the home supporters who had already started their celebration.

Graham's second chance was identical, just before half time. This time Kean picked up a deflected pass and shot from the edge of the area, forcing a good save from Douglas. Again Graham was following up, but completely fluffed his shot, sending the ball bouncing embarrassingly across the penalty area.

Moments later Jenkins sent a looping header from a free kick over Douglas. Craig Forsyth racing back performed wonders to head the bail acrobatically over the bar. Dundee meanwhile were looking neat and purposeful in midfield, but failed to test Colin Stewart at all during the first half.

Morton opened the second half with a spell of sustained pressure but struggled to break down the Dundee defence. When Dundee moved into attack they looked more menacing. Harkins' diving header from a comer was just wide, then 15 minutes into the second half Dundee won a very strange penalty.

Stuart McCaffrey seemed to handle a cross. Just as the referee was agonising over whether to give Dundee a soft penalty, ex-Dee David O'Brien removed settled all doubt and controversy by chopping down Stephen O'Donnell who had pounced on the loose ball.

Matt Lockwood stepped up to hammer a confident penalty low into the corner.

Dundee now had their best spell of the game. Lockwood sent Forsyth striding down the left into the penalty area, but his fierce shot was blocked. Gary Harkins then released Sean Higgins with a marvellous long ball, but the striker shot across goal and wide.

Morton gave themselves a lift by sending on fresh wide players, Fitzharris and Conti. 10 minutes from the end Fitzharris's good long cross was headed past Douglas by Kean, but the home supporters' celebration was cut short by the assistant referee flagging for offside. Morton's last chance was a near own goal, when Weston swiped at a Fitzharris cross and sliced the ball into the side netting.

Sean Higgins took a knock and was replaced by young Leighton McIntosh, who came on for the last 10 minutes, his first senior appearance for the Dee. His pace and enthusiasm kept the pressure on the Morton defenders which was exactly what was required at the time.

Dundee saw out the match taking the ball into the corners, though Gary Harkins put his defence under pressure when he twice lost possession in the Morton half, allowing the home side to break. Disappointingly Leigh Griffiths picked up a silly booking for disputing an offside decision when a time-wasting ploy at a corner went wrong.

The referee played four minutes of injury time, but Morton couldn't get past the Dundee defence and all three points were secured for Dundee.

The outcome could have been very different if Brian Graham had taken his chances in the first half. This never looked like being a game in which there would be many chances, and Morton were made to pay by a patient and composed Dundee

Both sides tried to play football through the midfield, and the match was refreshingly free of the sort of heavyweight midfield combat we see too often in the First Division. However, the lack of inspiration in both sides attacks meant that a goalless draw looked likely till Dundee's winning penalty. Leigh Griffiths started very brightly, but seemed some way short of his best in the second half.

This wasn't a match that will linger in the memory for long, but it was a very good and valuable win for Dundee. Six points and two clean sheets from successive away games at difficult venues, Dingwall and Greenock, are an excellent return for Barry Smith's battlers.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website