Memories of a goalkeeper whose stint at Dens came to a sad end

Stopper developed his game with the Dark Blues

It was a New Year and a new club for Dundee’s Scott Bain when the keeper joined Hibs on loan on Monday. His move to Easter Road lasts until the end of the season when his deal at Dens will run out. It means the 26-year-old’s last game for the Dark Blues was the 3-1 defeat against Hamilton on October 28 at Dens.

After that match, Bain was dropped from the team, allegedly because of a verbal bust-up with boss Neil McCann.

What is certain is that the Accies game brought down the curtain on Bain’s career at the club.

He joined Dundee in May 2014 when he was snapped up by then Dark Blues boss Paul Hartley from Alloa. The manager knew Bain well from their time together at Aberdeen and he had signed the keeper after his release from the Dons when he was boss of the Wasps.

While playing for Alloa, the goalie worked as a labourer on a building site and he was determined to seize his second chance at full-time football with both hands.

He had to be patient for his opportunity and it came in October of that year when Kyle Letheren suffered a knee injury in the warm-up before a Premiership game at Motherwell, with Bain helping his side to a 3-1 win.

He never looked back from that time on and signed a contract extension in April 2015 until the end of this season.

Bain’s performances for the Dark Blues also led to international recognition with call-ups to Scotland squads.

However, in March, last year, Hartley revealed that Bain had intimated he would not be signing another contract at Dens, something which did not go down too well with some fans.

It left the keeper in an awkward position but he seemed to have found a new lease of life once McCann had taken the manager’s job on a permanent basis – until that fateful day in October.

It was a sad way for it all to end for Bain at Dens. He was always a great lad to deal with and on his day he was an outstanding stopper.

Some of his reaction saves were right out of the top drawer but two stick in my mind in particular.

The first came against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup at Dens on November 29 2014. The Dark Blues had made it 2-1 with a last-gasp David Clarkson goal – his eighth in eight games.

However, Aberdeen looked to have snatched an equaliser just before the final whistle when Niall McGinn unleashed a shot which seemed certain to end up in the back of the net.

However, Bain’s reflexes saw him tip the rising effort on to the crossbar to deny the Dons.

The other outstanding save came against Dundee United at Tannadice on August 11 2015 in the Premiership.

United were 2-1 up when Simon Murray had a chance to put the game to bed.

Once again though, Bain came to Dundee’s rescue with an instinctive save to push the striker’s shot up on to the bar.

If you get the chance, have a look at the video of the game. The United fans behind Bain’s goal were so certain Murray’s fierce strike would end up in the back of the net, they were already celebrating only to have their joy cut short by the keeper’s incredible effort.

The Dark Blues had even more reason to thank Bain as they went up the pitch to secure a dramatic equaliser thanks to James McPake.

Now, though, memories are all that remain of the keeper’s time at Dens and already Elliott Parish has taken his place in the fans’ affections with his performances between the sticks.

Ultimately, though, there has to be some regret from all the parties involved that Bain’s departure from Dens was not a more amicable one.

Picture: SNS. Although things went sour for Scott Bain at Dens Park, he impressed during his time between the sticks.