Dee held by 10-man Ton

Dundee improve but fail to win for fifth-straight game

DUNDEE may have failed to win for the fifth match on the spin but there was a glimmer of something at Morton that might just turn into light at the end of the tunnel for the Dark Blues.

That might be difficult for Dees to see in a run of form and campaign that just never seems to get going in the right direction.

At times against 10-man Ton, James McPake’s side fell into bad habits that have troubled them all season – ponderous possession play that failed to produce any sort of scoring chance.

However, on the balance of chances, Dundee deserved to take all three points from this game.

Compared with the previous games in this poor run of form, meek defeats to Inverness, Motherwell and Dunfermline, this was far better.

That’s not too difficult, to be fair, but at least this time there were chances created that, on another day, would have been stuck away.

It was a new-look Dark Blues side with fresh signings Christophe Berra and Conor Hazard coming in at centre-back and goalkeeper respectively.

There was also a first appearance in six weeks for Jordon Forster alongside Berra as the manager set up his side to combat Morton’s direct approach.

And they did that well, particularly in the first quarter of the match where Dundee were far and away the better side.

And they deservedly took the lead through Hemmings.

Much has been made of top scorer Danny Johnson’s departure but Dundee’s main striker moved quickly to allay fans’ fears as he went level with the now-Leyton Orient striker’s tally of seven.

It was Berra who created it, justifying the No 7 on his back with a debut assist, as the Scotland international sent a long ball up to the striker.

Hemmings did the rest, spinning his man and firing past a helpless Danny Rogers in the Ton goal.

From there it looked like the Dark Blues would push on and assert their dominance further.

However, their Achilles heel is conceding goals and failing to react.

Manager McPake wasn’t happy with Shaun Byrne for giving away a cheap free-kick 25 yards out.

And Morton took advantage, with a large slice of luck thrown in.

Nicky Cadden hit the free-kick, which clipped the wall, wrongfooting goalie Hazard who could only pat the ball back out.

It landed on a plate for former Dee Jim McAlister who knocked in from two yards.

The first half turned on that moment as Morton came to life and Dundee wilted.

Kalvin Orsi fired just over before having an overhead kick ruled out for offside. After the break he looked certain to score only for Berra to get a vital toe in before the match swung back in Dundee’s favour.

On a booking, midfielder Kyle Jacobs went in very heavily on Hemmings and earned a second caution.

From there, the onus was on Dundee to break down an increasingly-stubborn Ton.

They were an inch from doing that just after the red card as Declan McDaid curled a fine effort off the foot of the post. Forster on the rebound couldn’t control the header, though.

Hemmings would have another goal-bound effort blocked by Chris Millar before Christie Elliott fired an effort just wide.

With almost the last kick of the game, debutant Elliott saw a free-kick clip the wall and drift just past the post with the goalie stranded.

Therein lies the difference when you’re on a bad run – Ton’s deflected free-kick gave them a goal, Dundee’s went wide.

Margins are slim but it’s up to the Dark Blues to ensure they fall in their favour next week against Partick or a relegation battle is a distinct possibility.