Dundee 4
Hamilton Academical 0
League (Premiership)

Match Report

Dundee handed out some welcome Christmas cheer to the supporters today with a 4-0 hammering of Hamilton. The Dee blew Accies away in a storming opening half hour during which Kane Hemmings scored a hat trick and Greg Stewart served up a trademark goal.

The Dark Blues made three changes from last week. Gary Harkins and Thomas Konrad kept their places after coming on as subs last week, replacing Rory Loy, who was on the bench, and the injured Julen Etxabeguren. Kevin Holt returned at left back, with Gary Irvine moving to the right and Paul McGinn named as a substitute. Accies made only one change; Greg Docherty coming in for Gramoj Kurtaj in midfield.

Paul Hartley had talked about the need for the Dee to make a faster start to games, and the players responded in grand style today. The Dark Blues stunned Accies in a thrilling first half that saw the visitors' defence ripped to shreds time and again.

After five minutes the Christmas fun began when Gary Irvine launched a long clearance out of defence. He was merely clearing his lines in a prudent fashion, but he caught out the hapless Accies defence who allowed the ball to sail over their heads. Kane HEMMINGS pounced on the chance, taking the ball round keeper McGovern and rolling it into the empty net.

The Dee were on fire and looked like scoring every time they attacked a nervous defence. McGovern pulled off a great save on his goalline from a Stewart volley after Hemmings had spun away from his marker to race into the penalty area and set up the chance.

Dundee's movement and passing were a joy to watch as wave after wave of attacks surged towards Accies' goal. Confident and inventive, the Dark Blues looked sure to add to their lead. The second goal duly arrived after 19 minutes and showed the Dee at their best. Gary Harkins made a diagonal run through the midfield, timing his pass perfectly to set up Greg STEWART to cut in from the right and curl the ball past McGovern from 18 yards. It was a goal of beautifully executed simplicity.

The delighted fans had little more than a minute to wait for number three, and it was another horror story for Accies' defence. Greg Stewart's through ball should have been cleared up by either the central defence or the keeper. Inexplicably the result was total confusion on the edge of the penalty area. Kane HEMMINGS raced in to drag the ball clear of the shambles and tap it into the gaping goal.

Hemmings almost completed his hat trick two minutes later. His lob from outside the penalty area seemed goalbound but McGovern pulled off the save of the match to tip the ball over the bar.

The hat trick was delayed for only three minutes and it arrived in magnificent fashion. HEMMINGS picked up the ball just inside Accies' half, ran at Sendles-White and Tagliapietra, and shimmied into space to rifle a low shot into the corner of the net from 20 yards. It was the first hat trick by a Dundee player since Steven Milne scored three, also against Accies, in a 6-1 win in December 2011.

Hamilton responded by taking off the unfortunate centre back Jamie Sendles-White and sending on Jesus Garcia. The change made little difference to an Accies' team that was struggling all over the park. The Dark Blues were in total control and might well have had a penalty when Grant Gillespie pushed Greg Stewart's cross away with his hands only for the referee to award a corner.

The first thing that went wrong for the Dee was late in the first half when Kevin Thomson pulled up and was replaced by Nick Ross

The half time whistle saw the Dark Blues depart to a standing ovation after a first half that was as near to perfection as any supporter could hope for. Accies sent on Kurtaj for Docherty at half time and did make the game more of a contest in the second half. By then the game was well out of Accies' reach. The visitors had their fair share of possession without giving Scott Bain any trouble.

Sadly Dundee lost Gary Irvine, who was stretchered off early in the second half. Paul McGinn was a natural replacement.

Dundee probed away at Accies' defence, but without the urgency they'd shown before the break. Harkins and Stewart both threatened to open Accies up again, and Hemmings 25 yard free kick had to be touched over by McGovern. However, the second half was a flat affair after the fireworks in the opening 45 minutes. Kane Kemmings was replaced by Rory Loy late on, and left to a huge and well deserved ovation.

This was a big win for Dundee in every sense. It brought a winless run of eight games to an end, and the players showed their real ability. Every part of the team clicked, and a first clean sheet since September was very welcome. Everyone did their job well and only the most demanding of supporters would have left Dens without a smile on their faces. The win lifted the Dee into the top half of the table again, and if the team can maintain this standard of performance then the Dee clearly belong in the top six.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website