The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Dens men must focus on the positives
Dee lose to scrappy Hearts goal, but full-back Horsfield remains confident ahead of tough clash against Celtic
DUNDEE 0 HEARTS 1
James Horsfield insists everyone at Dundee has to focus on the positives despite the latest loss at Dens on Saturday.
The Dark Blues suffered their third defeat in a row as they were beaten by a solitary Sean Clare goal to leave them still sitting second bottom of the Premiership table.
On-loan Scunthorpe United rightback Horsfield felt the result was harsh on his side and that they should have picked up at least a draw from the game.
However, the 23-year-old has already switched his focus towards this weekend’s next challenge when he hopes Dundee will be at their Sunday best against Celtic at Dens.
Horsfield said: “We are disappointed as we have come out of the game feeling we should have got something.
“I think we just have to remain positive. We have a tough run of games coming up starting with Celtic at the weekend.
“But the only thing we can do is go away, keep working hard during the week and try to get a result on Sunday.
“We can take a lot of positives from the Hearts performance. We created chances and didn’t give too many opportunities away. Like I said, we just have to keep working hard and being positive.
“I felt like we were on top for the first 10 to 15 minutes but then we conceded a sloppy goal which we are really disappointed about. But we still felt there was something there for us.”
Not for the first time this season, Dundee were left playing catch-up after conceding and Horsfield admitted it would make a huge difference if they were the ones taking the lead in games.
He said: “We have conceded early goals in the last two games and we are having to play catch-up from there.
“It is another test when you go a goal behind. You have to change your mindset and tell yourself you just have to get the next one and to start again.”
Struggling Dundee will be huge underdogs against table-topping Celtic on Sunday but Horsfield insists the Dark Blues are capable of producing a shock.
He said: “It is a tough fixture but we have to go into the game believing we can get a result. As a footballer, you don’t want to go into a game with any negative thoughts.
“You just have to approach it thinking it is 11 v 11 and if we have a good day and they have a bad one, we might get something.”
Dundee made a good start to Saturday’s game with Andy Dales having a chance in just the sixth minute but his shot was deflected over for a corner.
Nathan Ralph was next to try his luck with a low 30-yard effort that flew just inches past Hearts goalie Zdenek Zlamal’s right-hand post.
The Jam Tarts had barely posed an attacking threat before they took the lead in the 14th minute.
There was an almighty scramble in the Dundee box before the ball broke kindly for Clare who stabbed home from six yards through the legs of Dark Blues keeper Seny Dieng.
Mcintyre’s men looked to hit back straight away with Kenny Miller hitting an angled drive that Zlamal saved with his feet.
Dieng then produced an acrobatic, diving stop to keep out a well-struck effort from Callum Morrison.
Overall though Dundee could feel aggrieved heading down the tunnel at the break still in arrears.
There was little to excite the fans of either side at the start of the second half with the hour mark passing without any further goal threats.
It was the Jam Tarts who finally had the first chance of the half in the 69th minute but Dieng comfortably dealt with Uche Ikpeazu’s snapshot.
The Dark Blues came agonisingly close to equalising in the 84th minute but Miller’s header was superbly tipped away by Zlamal and then the goalie came to the rescue once more to keep out a well-hit volley from sub John O’sullivan.
However, it was all too little too late from the Dark Blues perspective.
Dundee boss Jim Mcintyre said: “It is hard to be critical as the goal was so scrappy. It wasn’t as if they cut us open.
“It is an old-fashioned stramash and they get a toe poke to it so it was a really frustrating goal and a poor one to give away.
“The positives were that we defended better and the subs gave us a good impact.”