McPake is hoping his Dens men can kick on

DUNDEE ended a run of three defeats in a row with this narrow victory against Arbroath at Dens.

Paul McGowan was the home hero, scoring the only goal of the game in the 35th minute.

It was a strike straight out of the top drawer as he hit a shot with the outside of his right boot from the edge of the Arbroath box that clipped the inside of the post before nestling in the back of the net.

Dundee had the best of the early opportunities, with Red Lichties goalkeeper Derek Gaston producing a stunning save, diving full length to his right to keep out a 12-yard strike from Max Anderson.

However, the keeper was helpless to prevent McGowan opening the scoring with his stunning effort.

Just after the restart, Dundee came close to doubling their advantage when Christie Elliott clipped the top of Gaston’s bar.

On the hour mark, Arbroath passed up a great opportunity to equalise when Dale Hilson blasted over when he should have at least tested Jack Hamilton.

A relieved Dundee boss James McPake is hoping the win can be a launching pad for the Dark Blues and their promotion ambitions.

The 36-year-old said: ‘It has to be. We had lost three on the bounce, so we had to stop that. That box is now ticked.

‘So we will work away again this week and all focus is on going to Inverness next Saturday and coming back with three points.’

Arbroath manager Dick Campbell believed his side deserved a point from the match. He said: ‘Anybody who was at the game would be saying Dundee were glad to hear the final whistle go.’