Dundee 2
Ross County 0
League (First Division)

Match Report

Dundee's recent matches have been calm and measured victories. This was very different affair. It was a tough battle that Dundee won largely because they kept their heads better than the visitors when the nasty stuff started.

Dundee's neat short passing game wasn't so prominent today, but they had the quality required to see off a Ross County side who could retain possession neatly, but lacked the penetration to trouble the home defence. Dundee had the extra quality that allowed them to carve out the chances they needed to win.

The big surprise in the home line-up was the sight of Steven Robb making debut for the Dee, second time around, after being released by St Mirren. He was a straight replacement for the injured Nicky Riley, playing on the right of midfield instead of the more familiar left wing.

It was the current holder of the left midfield spot, Craig Forsyth, who proved to be the most prominent player on the pitch today. He should have given Dundee the lead after only three minutes when he wastefully fired high after fine approach play by Higgins and Griffiths.

County responded quickly with a fine shot by Gardyne from 20 yards that curled narrowly wide.

The game then settled into a lengthy spell of County passing their way neatly but harmlessly around in midfield, whilst a strangely sloppy Dundee veered between careless passing and flashes of skill and vision, mainly from Griffiths, that threatened to unlock the visitors' defence.

It was one of those moments of quality that allowed Dundee to take the lead on 28 minutes. Forsyth combined neatly with Griffiths and was half tackled as he surged into the box. He managed to keep going but was tripped by Flynn. Matt Lockwood stepped up to blast his third goal of the season high into the net from the spot.

Forsyth nearly set up a second shortly after when he intercepted a clearance nipped round Miller and drove a pass across goal that was just begging for a striker to tap it in. County could have equalised soon after the restart when a poor pass from Craig McKeown allowed Gardyne to break down the left. His cross gave Barrowman the visitors' only chance of the match, but the header was weak and wide.

New County manager Willie McStay replaced the uncomfortable Miller with McCormack at half time, but sadly the newcomer lasted only five minutes before incurring a dreadful injury. He lost control of the ball and Forsyth swept it out play. The County player's follow through caught Forsyth, with a dreadful snapping noise that signalled the worst. More than seven minutes of treatment were required before he was stretchered off.

The referee, Mr Dermott, gave Forsyth a yellow card, which may have been a reaction to the awful injury, rather than a fair punishment.

The next County substitute, Stuart Kettlewell, seemed in no doubt about where the guilt lay and embarked on a rather childish vendetta against Forsyth. After the pair had challenged each other in midfield on the touch line Kettlewell kicked the grounded Forsyth in the back. This prompted a good old fashioned rammy that required physical intervention from the referee and his assistant.

The Main Stand had a perfect view of the assault on Forsyth and were offering noisy advice to the referee. Fortunately for Kettlewell the referee had missed his part, though he was one of five players booked for the incident. In truth, only one card was really required, and it should have been red.

The home fans gave Kettlewell the traditional pantomime villain treatment. Craig Forsyth showed great coolness and maturity, apparently thriving on the antagonism of his opponents. His attitude seemed to be that if they wanted to have a go at him then he'd run hard at their defence and dare them to do their worst.

At last Dundee were consistently making their passes count, and building their moves neatly. Harkins and O'Donnell were in great form in the midfield, and the latter saw his shot hacked off the line following a corner. Griffiths then flashed a twenty yarder just wide as Dundee pressed County back.

The crucial second goal was no surprise, but the outstanding quality of the goal took everyone's breath away. Forsyth, Harkins and Higgins combined cleverly in midfield, making space for Griffiths to dink the ball into the path of Harkins. The skilful midfielder celebrated his 26th birthday by chesting the ball past the last defender and coolly firing it home.

The match sponsors, Radio Tay, gave the man of the match award to Craig Forsyth, who completed an eventful afternoon by taking a nasty face knock in an aerial challenge and being substituted.

Stuart Kettlewell finally got the red card that had seemed almost inevitable. Gary Harkins knocked the ball past him and was caught late. It wasn't a bad foul, but Kettlewell had obviously used up all his credit with the referee and received a second yellow. That was the last of the talking points, and at 5 o'clock exactly the referee called a halt to the game, fifteen minutes late!

Dundee have played better in this recent run, but today's win was all about composure, patience and maturity. They kept going till they got their game together and refused to lose their concentration and get distracted by the delays and strange goings on in the second half. That required greater strength of character than other recent Dundee sides have shown, and it ensured that Dundee took the three points that they deserved.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website