MARK CATCHES A FALLEN CHAR
Adam gaffe costs Dens men but boss insists whole team to blame
Mark McGhee absolved Charlie Adam of blame despite his captain’s fourth-minute calamity, beginning a horror afternoon that leaves Dundee’s Premiership status hanging by a thread.
The veteran midf ielder’s creativity might have been the Dens Park men’s main source of hope for survival in recent weeks.
But the craziest of decisions against his old side began a painful afternoon in Paisley that looks certain to leave them hurtling back through the trap door after just a year in the top flight.
Adam’s wayward backpass to Harry Sharp fell straight into the path of grateful Alex Greive who had the easiest of tasks to bundle home and begin a comfor table v ictor y for Saints for whom Curtis Main smashed home a second.
Dundee need a miracle to avoid the drop now. Six points adrift with two games left and Hibs up next at Dens – before the toughest of finishes away at Livingston next weekend – Dee need two wins and then pray for a seven-goal swing.
McGhee admitted pre-match that defeat could be terminal and afterwards he sighed: “Charlie held his hand up at the time and again when he came off.
“It was an aberration, I don’t know what he was thinking. I thought he was just going to play it out to the far side. He said he tried to play it to the keeper. He has just got it wrong.
“We had a whole match to get it back so it could have been any goal. We had 86 minutes left to get it back.
“The disappointing thing was we never looked l ike getting it back – that was the surprise and disappointment.
“We can’t say we deserved anything. Last week I raved about the first half and thought we’d carry it on today.
“We put forward players in to get a goal and had one shot.”
Adam kept his place in the middle of the park after last week’s substitution at Aberdeen which had caused McGhee to lose the head over questions from the media.
But the Dee hero suffered his own head loss moment after just four minutes when, under pressure a couple of yards from his own touchline in the corner, he turned and played the loosest of passes square into his own six-yard box.
It was straight into the path of Greive who couldn’t believe his luck as he smashed home his third goal of the season. Dundee were stung and but for a stunning full-length Sharp save from Main’s 20th-minute header, they’d have been 2- 0 down.
The Buddies , with the pressure off after last week’s win at St Johnstone, were playing some neat stuff despite missing the influence of player of the year Conor Ronan, who returned to Wolves.
Greg Ki ltie shaved Sharp’s right-hand post with a fizzing 20-yarder as the Buddies, sensing blood, went in for the kill. But the visitors could have levelled minutes after the break as Jak Alnwick had to be at his best to turn Ryan Sweeney’s header round the post f rom Adam’s inswinging free-kick.
Moments later Jordan McGhee had a toe poke from close in scrambled off the line. But it was all over after 55 minutes when Main– who had led the line superbly throughout – smashed home into the top corner from 10 yards after taking a delightful touch to control Marcus Fraser’s cross.
Adam’s afternoon came to an end after 61 minutes. There was a pat on the back for McGhee this week as he was
replaced by Josh Mulligan. But deep in the bowels of the g round the 3 6 - yea r - old mus t have been cursing his rotten afternoon.
The fight had gone out of McGhee’s men by that point. And it looks like t he la s t ga sp of hope has gone with it.