O’Dea spot on in Dens Park stalemate

HAILED as a hero on his first appearance at Dens Park, Dundee’s talisman Neil McCann remains unbeaten as the club’s manager, but it was the visitors who got the result required to ensure their Premiership revival in a feisty encounter at Dens Park.

Nine players were booked in all, six of them Ross County players, as they battled to protect the fourth-minute lead they had claimed and both McCann and opposite number Jim McIntyre had mixed feelings after the game.

“We’d have liked the win and we always set ourselves out for that, even when we’re thinking a point wouldn’t be bad,” said the home team’s boss. “We’ve lost a disappointing goal, but it’s how you react and I think maybe three games ago there was a lack of confidence, but from 30 minutes or so onwards you could feel things starting to happen.”

McIntyre was meanwhile pleased with the way his men started the match and with a result that achieved their main goal, but was disappointed at the way they had fallen out of the game.

“Of course we’re safe and that’s very important, but we’ve been constantly thinking about seventh place and looking to finish the season unbeaten and we were hanging on in there at the end,” he observed, after his men took the run since their last defeat to six matches.

While Dundee spurned an opportunity from kick-off when Marcus Haber declined a fine opportunity to shoot, the threat posed by an increasingly confident Ross County side had been quickly in evidence as Michael Gardyne skinned Kevin Holt then curled a left-footed shot towards the far corner, drawing a fine one-handed save from Scott Bain.

The opening goal was merely momentarily postponed however as, following the corner from the left, Martin Woods played a diagonal ball into the penalty area which Craig Curran re-directed into the path of the in-form Liam Boyce, who provided a lethal finish with just four minutes gone.

It took 26 minutes for the hosts to make any sort of enquiry of Scott Fox, a quickly taken free-kick by Paul McGowan giving Faissal El Bakhtaoui the chance to set up a shot for himself which he struck too directly at the County keeper.

The outcome was similar a few minutes later when Cammy Kerr cut in from the left and fired in another effort, but at least there was some suggestion that Dundee were warming to their task.

Before there was a lack of confidence, but from 30 minutes on you could feel things start to happen

As the opening half moved into injury time, they came close once again, McGowan hitting Holt’s early cross just wide of the far post.

Dundee continued to dominate in the early stages of the second half, their fans now back on side and approaching the hour mark El Bakhtaoui came close to levelling things with a 20-yard drive that dipped just a little too late.

Their deserved equaliser came in the 77th minute from a move initiated by substitute Nick Ross who spotted Kerr racing into the box. The full-back looked to be struggling to get to the ball but Craig Currran was not prepared to risk finding out if he would, grabbing an arm to haul him down.

He became the fifth County booking, but the greater punishment was delivered by Dundee captain Darren O’Dea who opted for power with the spot kick, striking high into the net as Fox dived right.

Dundee continued to have much the better of things but were unable to register the winner that would have taken them beyond the reach of second-bottom Hamilton.