The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
ASSIST KING OVERCOMES SICKNESS BUG
Dundee winger Paul McMullan hopes his bout of early sickness against Hibs doesn’t turn into a lucky charm.
Sunday’s 2-2 draw was yet another impressive performance from the Dens Park assist king.
Since arriving last January from rivals Dundee United, McMullan has been a revelation on the Dens side of Sandeman Street.
In setting up the late equaliser for Paul McGowan, the winger notched his seventh assist of the fledgling season.
Adding that to the 13 he got last term, McMullan has set up 20 goals in just 27 appearances for the Dark Blues.
The big question was whether he could maintain his early form in the top flight. A man-of-the-match performance against Hibs suggests he can.
And the illness early on made his display all the more impressive.
“After about 20 minutes I just couldn’t get a breath and it was the only way I could think of to sort it. So I made myself sick,” he revealed.
“It wasn’t exactly a great feeling at the time.
“Thankfully it was just the once.
“It took me about five or 10 minutes after it to get through it and back feeling OK. I don’t think too many people noticed mind you.
“At half-time, I got some fluids in me and that certainly helped make me feel better.
“I didn’t feel bad or anything before the game, it was after I had a few sprints in a row that’s when it came over me. I won man of the match but I certainly hope that’s not a lucky charm or anything!”
For McMullan, the Dark Blues were well worth their point after an end-to-end battle with Hibs.
In doing so, they prevented the Easter Road side going top of the Premiership and kept up their own run of just three defeats in 21 games.
“I thought we played really well,” he added.
“To score late shows the character we have in the team. It was a great header from Gowser to get us a point. We put a lot of pressure on them and we deserved the equaliser.”
Sunday’s clash was the first time fans have been allowed into all four sides of Dens Park since March 2020.
It was the first time supporters have been inside the South Enclosure since a 2-0 win over Ayr United 17 months ago.
And the number of people in the stand certainly increased in the 83rd minute.
McMullan said: “Having the fans back does make a big difference in these games. You could see when Gowser scored his goal he knew the script, as he has been here a lot longer than me, but he was into the stand with the fans.
“I’m just glad he didn’t hurt himself trying to get in there. It’s brilliant to have as many supporters back as we did.
“Even the Hibs fans were really loud and you do miss hearing that banter back and forth between the fans.
“It’s a lot better than playing in front of no one.”
Dundee may only have
got a point for their efforts but McMullan insists the belief they picked up from the performance will be invaluable.
“We don’t have as many points as we would have liked so far this season,” he said.
“What we have got from the games is a bit of belief we can compete at this level. Once we get our first win we hope it kicks us on and it gets us going properly. From the two home games, we have taken a lot of positives.
“But we want to get a win and make our mark on the league.”