Dundee anxious to do better after disappointing start to league campaign

Dundee’s Mark O’Hara did not pull any punches in assessing his side’s performance in defeat against Ross County, admitting it simply wasn’t good enough.

Early-season confidence in the stands over manager Neil McCann’s new-look squad quickly evaporated on Saturday as the Staggies took control of the game, and they were well worth their two-goal lead before the Dark Blues scored a late consolation.

O’Hara and his team-mates know there can be no repeat of the lacklustre display, especially with another derby with United looming on Wednesday night in the Betfred Cup.

The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We didn’t see that coming, to be honest with you. We saw that as a winnable game and are all very disappointed, but have a chance to put it right on Wednesday night now.

“It is difficult to put a finger on what went wrong. I just think not enough of us performed on the day.

“The manager was saying we can carry one or two but a lot of us just didn’t turn up.

“Usually you can grind it out but today just wasn’t good enough from us.”

The final whistle was greeted with boos from the home support. O’Hara said the fans’ frustration was “very understandable”.

He added: “Getting off to a good start is key. We did that last year (against Ross County) but didn’t build on it, so hopefully it will be the opposite this year – get beaten in the first game and then pick up points in the next couple of matches.

“The manager has said there will be nobody fitter than us, so hopefully it is going to show in the next couple of games that we can keep going right until the end.”

O’Hara had a chance in the third minute when Sofien Moussa cut the ball back to him, but County keeper Scott Fox pulled off a fine save. The visitors then started to dominate. In the 18th minute Michael Gardyne manufactured an opening for himself 20 yards out, but his low shot flew just wide of Scott Bain’s right-hand post.

County then had an even better chance but Alex Schalk shot straight at the Dundee keeper with the goal at his mercy.

In the 36th minute the Staggies took the lead when skipper Andrew Davies headed the ball down to Jamie Lindsay, lurking at the edge of the Dundee box, and he drilled a low half-volley past Bain and into the bottom corner.

The Dark Blues looked to hit back before the break but Fox pulled off a good diving save from a Roarie Deacon shot, and then clawed away a Kevin Holt header from the resultant corner.

Dundee continued to struggle to break down County in the second half and Fox wasn’t tested again until the hour mark when he parried a Deacon shot on the turn.

The Staggies extended their lead in the 61st minute when Sean Kelly sent a corner in from the right and Christopher Routis rose unchallenged to head past the helpless Bain.

The home side pulled a goal back in the 86th minute when Scott Allan delivered a corner from the right and sub Jack Hendry bulleted a header past Fox.

Dundee mounted a last-gasp siege on the County goal but Jim McIntyre’s men held on to take all three points.

O’Hara admitted that it could all have been so different if he had scored with his early chance.

He said: “Yes, if that goes in . . . I probably should have done better and if it had gone in it was a different game.

“It was a bit desperate towards the end and I think we had enough chances to get an equaliser, but we just weren’t clinical enough.

“There were some good balls in at times but we weren’t attacking them properly.

“But we had opportunities to get a draw.”

A grim-faced McCann said: “I am really disappointed.

“There were no signs of it as we were really positive going into the match.

“I thought we let Ross County dominate us.

“The biggest thing that annoyed me was the middle section of the match as we weren’t good enough.

“Overall, it was a very disappointing opening to the league campaign.

“But it is good to have another game so quickly.”

On August 6 last year Dundee went to the Highlands and beat Ross County 3-1 in their Premiership opener. The result convinced many it would be a season to remember for the Dark Blues.

Instead it turned into a campaign to forget, with too many poor results ultimately costing manager Paul Hartley his job.

So, as disappointing as Saturday’s defeat was to the same opponents, this time at Dens, it is far too early to be making hard and fast judgments about Neil McCann’s current squad and their prospects for the season.

However, Wednesday’s Betfred Cup derby with United now takes on even greater significance and we will probably have a better idea about the resilience and character of the new-look Dark Blues once the dust has settled on that game.

Worryingly for Dundee, main striker Sofien Moussa is a doubt after being injured against the Staggies, as is young centre-half Kerr Waddell, while skipper Darren O’Dea is suspended.

Marcus Haber would seem to be a straight swap if Moussa does miss out, but was absent from the squad against County.

Whether he returns remains to be seen.

What is certain is that Dundee cannot afford to be as laboured and ponderous as they were for large periods of Saturday’s game when they take on the Tangerines, who no doubt will come to Dens with their tails up after winning their Championship opener in Inverness.

Everyone of a Dark Blue persuasion will be looking for their side to fly out of the traps and be on the front foot from the first whistle to the last.