The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dark Blues seeking to double up
Jordan Marshall is targeting consecutive league wins for the first time this season when Dundee head to Alloa tonight, writes Ian Roache.
The Dark Blues got one monkey off their back by securing their first away win of the Championship campaign down at Ayr on Friday.
It was a morale-boosting, confidence-building 2-1 scoreline at Somerset Park and now Marshall wants to do the double when they face the Wasps.
“It was a relief,” admitted the Newcastle-born left-back.
“Obviously, it has taken us a few games to get going.
“It was good to get that first away win in the league and we have to kick on now.
“I don’t think we have won two games in a row this season, which is quite surprising.
“That shows we haven’t been consistent and, if we want to win the league, we need to find that consistency.
“It is a crazy league and I have been saying that for years because everybody can beat everybody.
“You can never predict the results. “If you can get a run of wins, then you find you can climb the table quite quickly.
“If we hadn’t made mistakes like we did in the Partick Thistle game, then we would have been able to put the pressure right on Dundee United.”
One thing that won’t worry Marshall going into tonight’s game is the artificial pitch at the Indodrill Stadium.
As a former Queen of the South player, he is well used to it.
Marshall said: “I would prefer not to play on them but I was at Queens and I played on it (the artificial pitch) for four years. We know going into this game there can be no excuses.
“When I was at Queens, the pitch was so dry and we couldn’t really play football and pass it about.
“Sometimes it can be in players’ minds that they don’t want to play on it and that is already in their thinking before a ball is kicked. I am not one of those who will complain about them.”
Marshall is expecting Alloa to be tough opponents and it is worth noting that Peter Grant’s team are unbeaten in their last four Championship games – a win over Dundee United and draws against Dunfermline, Inverness and Queen of the South.
“Alloa are a good team,” he said. “They caused us problems last time they came here and I saw them on the TV against Dundee United and they were brilliant.”
Marshall, meanwhile, had praise for Kane Hemmings’ display at Ayr despite it not yielding a goal for the frontman.
He and his Dundee team-mates fully expect the hitman to hit the goal trail soon.
“The goals haven’t come as he would have liked but he has put a real shift in,” said Marshall of his colleague. On Friday, he was brilliant. You defend from the front and I thought he was excellent.
“When you play it up to him, you know it is going to stick because he is a big, physical guy.
“He is scoring all the time in training and, once he gets a few goals, then he will kick right on. He will by flying.
“I have been training with him for a few months and he is a finisher. Sometimes strikers go through a period like this where they don’t get the goals but we all trust that they will come.”
Jamie Ness is back in the Dundee squad, while Josh Todd should be fit after having stitches in his shin at Ayr.
Goalkeeper Jack Hamilton is continuing to recover at home after appendix surgery so that means another start for emergency loan signing Conor Hazard.