DUNDEE MATCH REPORT

DUNDEE 3 COVE RANGERS 0

Betfred League Cup Tuesday Nov 10th @ Dens Park

BLUE SEES RED

Controversial red cards shown to Blair Yule and Jamie Masson ended any hope of us taking points off Dundee in our Betfred League Cup Group B clash at Dens Park.

Paul McGowan gave our Championship hosts an early lead but we were still well in the tie until referee Craig Napier deemed right-back Yule’s challenge on Max Anderson, in the 41st minute, was enough to earn him his marching orders and Dundee a penalty kick.

Former Scotland and Rangers star Charlie Adam missed from the spot, but playing more than half of the game a man down - against full-time opponents - was always going to be a big ask.

Napier made that task nigh on impossible when he also sent Masson off, early in the second half, after he appeared to clash bodies with Max Anderson.

It was a night the match official won’t look back on with much satisfaction. All credit to the nine men though, they kept at it and even came close to equalising on a couple of occasions. The fact it took goals inside the last five minutes, from Danny Mullen and Adam (from another penalty) to secure things for Dundee underlined just how gallant an effort it was from our lads.

As expected, manager Paul Hartley had shuffled his pack to give some more of the squad game time, with Seb Ross, Jordon Brown, Adam Livingstone and Jamie Semple all in from the start.

Dundee’s fifth minute opener came when Declan McDaid cut in from the right touch-line then squared the ball across to McGOWAN who rifled a 14 yard shot into the top corner of the net, to keeper Stuart McKenzie’s left.

Adam then found Danny Mullen with an excellent cross field pass. The striker darted into the area but McKenzie stood up well to save his 16-yard shot. Adam also tried his luck with a 25 yard free-kick but McKenzie made a comfortable diving save. Scott Ross attempted to take the spectacular route to goal

in the 13th minute, when he had a go from just inside his own half. Dundee keeper Jack Hamilton was relieved to see the ball drop down just behind his crossbar.

We had a strong penalty shout rejected a minute later when Jordan McGhee appeared to block a shot from Brown with one of his arms. Despite appeals from our lads, referee Napier was content to award only a corner.

Dundee’s next chance came when Adam was given too much space to hit a 30 yard shot over the crossbar. Brown came close to equalising in the 23rd minute with a powerful 20 yard drive that Hamilton was happy to beat clear. Jamie Masson then fed the ball inside to Mitch Megginson but his ambitions effort from 25 yards went well wide of the Dundee goal.

It was end-to-end stuff, with Dundee’s McDaid hammering a shot wide just 30 seconds later. Adam was much closer with a low shot from a 19 yard free-kick that sped just beyond McKenzie’s right post.

The best move so far came from us in the 35th minute. Masson exchanged passes with Seb Ross as he darted through the middle then passed to Megginson and Hamilton had to make a great diving save to keep the skipper’s low 18yard shot out of his net.

Mitch Megginson thwarted by the Partick defence

Referee Napier handed Dundee their significant advantage when he showed Yule a straight red card after he challenged Anderson at the edge of our area. It was debatable if it was even in the box, but Napier was convinced, so also awarded a penalty to the Dark Blues.

Adam missed the spot-kick, firing his effort against the outside of McKenzie’s left post but it was clear it was going to tough going for us from then on. We were forced to shore up our defence for the restart, with Ross Graham on for Semple.

Any hope of a comeback was killed off when Napier also showed Masson a red for a challenge on Marshall, in the 54th minute. It looked as if the ref was reaching for a yellow card and Masson was understandably upset when the match official also gave him his marching orders.

It’s understood the ref opted for a red instead of a yellow after taking advice from one of his assistants, which will only compound the pain felt by Masson. Despite being two men down, we dug deep and still created chances. Livingstone had a powerful shot from the edge of the area saved by Hamilton.

The Dundee keeper then gifted us an indirect free-kick, after dropping the ball then picking it. Brown knocked the kick short to Megginson and his low 14 yard shot went inches wide of Hamilton’s right post. We brought Connor Scully and Hamish Ritchie on for Brown and Seb Ross in the 67th minute.

Rory McAllister and Broque Watson replaced Megginson and McIntosh three minutes later. Striker McAllister then saw his 25-yard free-kick cannon off the Dundee defensive wall as the home side hung on to their lead.

Dundee finally made the game safe when Adam lofted the ball forward to MULLEN and he managed to squeeze a shot home from the edge of the six yard box with five minutes left. With two minutes to go, the Dark Blues were awarded their second spot-klick of the night, for a foul by Graham on Mullen. ADAM scored this time but the final scoreline was very harsh on us after having battled so long with two men less.

Dundee: Hamilton, Kerr, McGhee (Hamilton 88), Byrne (Robertson 75), Mullen (Wilkie 88), McGowan, McDaid, Elliot, Marshall, Anderson (Blacklock 88) Adam.Subs: Ferrie, L Strachan, D Strachan.

Cove Rangers: McKenzie, Scott Ross, Strachan, Yule, Megginson (McAllister 70), Masson, McIntosh (Watson 70), Livingstone, Semple (Graham 46), Seb Ross (Scully 67), Brown (Ritchie 67). Subs: Demus.

Referee: Craig Napier.

Rory McAllister celebrates with his team mates after scoring the winning goal