“Sorry for that,” apologised Gardner Spiers, the Ross County manager, afterwards. “It wasn’t a good game to watch and I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy standing there watching it either. Dundee defended well, but we didn’t get our passing game going at all. It was very poor.”
Poor indeed, and for a moment spare a thought for Dundee’s fans who have watched their club disintegrate around them. They must find it truly depressing that on a stage where superstars such as Claudio Caniggia and Fabrizio Ravanelli used to perform, the show now revolves around endeavour rather than skill.
There are shoots of recovery beginning to break through, however, and Dundee can look to Kevin McDonald, Craig O’Reilly, Scott Robertson and Paul Dixon as a sign that things can get better. Yesterday, though, their inexperience was apparent. County were the more dynamic team, but only slightly, and should have gone in at the break a goal up. Kevin McKinley showed great awareness to nod David Cowan’s deep cross into Alex Burke’s path, but his vision was perhaps too sharp as the striker was not up to speed, slicing a shot wide.
Another of Dundee’s precocious youths, goalkeeper Scott Murray, has kept four clean sheets since replacing Kelvin Jack, but the impressive reputation he has built up almost unravelled in the 50th minute. Don Cowie whipped in a free-kick, the goalkeeper came but failed to gather and was left peering, ashen faced, as it snuck inches past his far post.
County goalkeeper Stuart Garden was largely untroubled by Paul Dixon’s 25-yard drive not long after an hour had elapsed. The home side were no more dangerous and found Bryan Deasley, Dundee’s 17-year-old substitute, hard to handle. The diminutive striker, on for Craig O’Reilly, came close with a long-range drive in the 74th minute.
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“I was happy with Bryan’s performance when he came on, he’s a real bright spark,” said Alan Kernaghan, his manager. “But it was a terrible game and I can understand why the fans were unhappy at the end. I felt the same.”
In the end it was Dundee nil, Ross County nil, entertainment nil and value for money nil.
STAR MAN: David Cowan (Ross County)
Player ratings. Dundee: Murray 6, Robertson 6, Dixon 6, Mann 7, Macdonald 6, Smith 6, McDonald 6, Brady 6 (Marshall 78min, 5), Lynch 5, O’Reilly 5 (Deasley 54min, 5),
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Robb 6 Ross County: Garden 6, Cowan 8, Djebi-Zadi 6, Lauchlan 7, Canning 6, Rankin 6, Burke 6 (Gunn 74min, 5), Higgins 6 (Winters 82min, 5), Cowie 7, McKinley 6 Booking: Cowan 77 Referee: S MacDonald Attendance: 3,671