Head man Ashcroft denied treble chance

Dundee defender Lee Ashcroft joked he was “raging” with Charlie Adam for denying him the chance to grab a hat-trick against Alloa.

The Dark Blues skipper chose to play short to Paul Mcmullan rather than send an 82ndminute corner into the area.

That was much to the annoyance of Ashcroft, who had dominated the home defence from a number of corner kicks and had two headed goals to his name already.

However, the 27-yearold admitted he was more than happy to settle for just the brace as well as a clean sheet.

After scoring his first two league goals for the club, Ashcroft said: “I was raging at the end when Charlie never put the ball in for me because with the confidence up I felt I could have got a hat-trick.

“But I’m delighted with the two goals and a clean sheet is massive for us.

“I had a chance earlier on in the game and it was probably the easiest of them all.

“It felt good to get one after that and put it right. I was frustrated because I’ve missed a few this season so it was good to get a couple.

“After Tuesday we knew we had to start the game well. Alloa came into it so I felt we got the goal just before half-time at the right time.

“It was good to be able to go and get the Ayr defeat out of our system.

“To go to Alloa with a bit of pressure on us, it’s a good feeling to come away with the win.”

Ashcroft added: “There are a lot of big games coming up against the teams round about us – Dunfermline and Raith Rovers – and it really is seven massive games for us between now and the end of the season.”