The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Captain O’Dea seeks reaction
DUNDEE: Dark Blues defender calls for consistency ahead of Well cup clash
Dundee skipper Darren O’Dea insists this weekend’s Scottish Cup tie against Motherwell was always a huge game for the club and has not taken on any added significance following Saturday’s dismal defeat against Ross County in the league.
The Dark Blues approached the match against bottom-of-the table Staggies at Dens in confident frame of mind after winning their previous two games. However, they struggled to get out of first gear against Owen Coyle’s side and suffered an embarrassing 4-1 defeat.
O’Dea expects a reaction against Motherwell in the Scottish Cup but he is determined Dundee will ultimately attain a consistent level of performance and results where that sort of response to adversity is not needed.
He said: “Motherwell was a big game regardless of the Ross County result.
“We spoke at the start of the year about the cups and trying to do well.
“Last year we were really, really poor (in the cups). So Saturday will be a huge game but certainly not because of this result.
“But if it gets a reaction, then so be it and we can take a positive. If you want to be successful, you need to be consistent week on week.”
DUNDEE 1 ROSS COUNTY 4
Dundee captain Darren O’Dea was quick to dismiss any suggestions that the dramatic off-field events of last week could in any way be used as an excuse for what happened on the pitch on Saturday.
The dismal defeat against Ross County came after an intense transfer deadline day for the Dark Blues with Jack Hendry joining Celtic for a club record fee just minutes before the window shut for the season.
On-loan Hoops midfielder Scott Allan – who had been the matchwinner when Dundee beat Inverness on Tuesday night in their Scottish Cup replay – also left Dens 24 hours later to move to Hibs with Simon Murray heading in the opposite direction to join the club he grew up supporting on loan.
However, O’Dea insisted the players were fully focused on playing the Staggies and those events had not been a distraction.
He said: “No, not in the slightest. There is no reason or excuse for it. We were absolutely fully prepared and we felt great going into the game on the back of two wins.
“Confidence was high so there was no distraction – it was down to what happened on the day.
“I will need to watch the game back and the manager certainly will to tell us where we went wrong.
“But I can only go off my gut instinct and that is we gave away really bad goals.
“Obviously if you do that, you lose games.”
O’Dea revealed that Dundee boss Neil McCann was still trying to take in what had happened when he spoke to the players in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.
The centre-half added: “He hasn’t said much.
“He obviously wasn’t happy. He will speak for himself but I think he is in the same boat as me after a defeat like that – you have to sit, digest it and watch it again.
“I am not going to say it wasn’t a 4-1 because it was but it is really hard to pinpoint exactly where it went wrong except for the individual play or defending at their goals.”
Murray was handed his debut for the club he has supported since he was a boy but the striker was starved of chances in a first half where the Staggies had most of the play.
Indeed, they had the best opportunity in just the eighth minute but former Liverpool striker Patrick N’Gog blasted over when he should have at least hit the target.
However, Davis Keillor-Dunn made no mistake in the 49th minute when he hit a superb curling shot from 16 yards that gave Dundee keeper Elliott Parish no chance.
The Staggies’ lead only lasted eight minutes with Kerr Waddell heading a Paul McGowan cross into the bottom corner of County keeper Scott Fox’s net.
The home fans would have been hoping that would finally kickstart their side’s afternoon. However Dundee then
went behind again in the 61st minute with Lewis Spence playing Waddell into trouble with Alex Schalk taking full advantage to fire past Parish.
The Dark Blues were on the ropes, conceding once more just three minutes later and it was that man Schalk again who gleefully made it 3-1 to the Staggies.
The home side’s misery was made complete in the 90th minute when sub Tim Chow scored County’s fourth.
O’Dea admitted he was at a loss to explain exactly what went wrong for his side.
He added: “First half both teams probably cancelled each other out.
“There wasn’t much in it and we were thinking we had a lot more to give in the second half.
“We conceded the goal and then did really well to get back into it quickly. If anything, we looked like we were going to go on and win the game. But then we conceded really poor goals.
“It is a strange one and really hard to analyse just now exactly where it went wrong.
“At the minute, my instincts are telling me they were just bad goals to concede.
“There wasn’t much in the game but we ended up getting beaten comprehensively.”
A subdued McCann put his hand up to admit he had to take his share of the blame for the defeat and he also apologised to the fans.
McCann said: “I am not just going to throw the boys under the bus – I also made mistakes as well.
“I will take responsibility for some of the decisions I made.
“But we are going to have to look over it together to see how bad that was.
“That’s not good enough and I can only apologise to the fans. That does not sit well with me and I know it doesn’t sit well with the players.
“I didn’t see it coming as we prepared well but there just seemed to be a lack of spark in our play.”