Part-time Peterhead take Dee to penalties
Disgruntled Dave Mackay watched Dundee stay riding high at the top of Group D – then slammed his troops for a below-par performance.
The Dark Blues won 4-2 on penalties after being held by Jim Mcinally’s part-time Peterhead to earn another bonus point following their similar spot-kick success in midweek at Cove Rangers in their quest to reach the last 16 of the competition.
Paul Mcgowan hit the winning penalty while Andrew Nelson, Craig Curran and Michael Cunningham also netted from the spot, after Declan Mcdaid had missed.
For the Blue Toon, Willie Gibson and Aidan Smith both netted but Jack Leitch and Jamie Stevenson failed to hit the target.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the home support who were hoping to hit the ground running ahead of the big kick-off in the Championship early next month.
Dens coach Mackay, who took over from boss James Mcpake, whose wife was in hospital giving birth, said: “We’re obviously not pleased with the overall performance.
“It wasn’t good enough, to be honest.
“Following on from the other night, we just looked a little bit flat and have lost that creative spark.
“The players worked hard enough but really lacked in quality.
“The only real positives were the fact we kept a clean sheet and picked up another bonus point.
“And I thought young Finn Robertson was different class in midfield for a 16-year-old.
“Apart from that, though, we know there’s a lot of improvement needed to get to the levels we’re aiming for.
“The squad is still a little bit thin so we need some reinforcements, which will hopefully come in due course.”
This was Dundee’s first home match after back-to-back trips on the road to Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers.
Their trip north to Cove had brought a 0-0 draw and some criticism from Mcpake about their lack of quality.
The hosts had a point to prove so began brightly in front of their home supporters who were hopefuls of a few goals to help wipe away the memory of last season’s relegation from the Premiership.
In 17 minutes, summer signing Mcdaid cut in from the left and his curling shot fizzed just past Greg Fleming’s far post which got the fans off their seats.
Then, at the other end, the part-time visitors almost took the lead in 26 minutes.
Rory Mcallister combined with Jack Leitch whose left-foot shot from 20-yards went just past Jack Hamilton’s right-hand post.
League One new boys Peterhead suffered a blow just after the half-hour mark when star striker Mcallister hobbled off with a hamstring injury.
Dundee were struggling to find any sort of rhythm in the second-half although Mcgowan did come close with a longrange effort in 62 minutes.
But in 79 minutes, Blue Toon sub Ben Armour ought to have won it.
He pounced on a mistake by the Dundee defence, only to shoot straight at Hamilton who parried to safety.