Dire Dundee drop to bottom after hammering from 10-man Accies
dundee 1 Leitch-Smith (pen 67) hAmilton ACCies 3 Skondras (39), Templeton (64), Rojano (85)
Dundee’s fourth defeat in succession plunges them to the bottom of the Premiership for Halloween.
On this form they will still be there come Hogmanay.
This was a dismal, dreadful display by the Dark Blues who got exactly what they deserved. Absolutely nothing.
They couldn’t even take advantage of the fact Accies played with 10 men for the final 15 minutes plus a further added five after Massimo Donati was sent off for a second yellow card when he kicked the ball into the crowd after previously wiping out Cammy Kerr.
Instead it was Accies who scored again to ensure their first victory since August, eight games ago.
No wonder the fans gave Dundee the bird as they deserted the scene.
Dundee manager Neil McCann was totally honest about his side’s situation afterwards. “I’m not ignorant to the fact we’re bottom of the league. So it’s down to my management skills to help our young players become stronger characters.
“The only way out of this situation is to work hard and remain confident about what we’re trying to do.
“We were in control of things before being caught by a sucker punch just before half-time. It’s another indication of how things have gone for us this season.
“We tried to go more direct after Accies had a man sent off. Unfortunately the players were reluctant to get the ball into the box quickly.
“Then a soft third goal killed the match for us.”
The visitors thoroughly deserved this victory.
Accies were more direct and street-wise. Once they got their noses in front they knew how to manage the game.
“That’s a massive result,” said manager Martin Canning afterwards. “Naive mistakes have cost us dearly of late, but we didn’t make them today.
“There were lots of positives for us. Ironically our most experienced player made the most naive error of the season.
“Fortunately it galvanised us and seemed to unsettle Dundee.”
Just as the first-half looked destined to end goal-less, the visitors took the lead out of the blue.
Dougie Imrie delivered a long cross from the left while running away from goal.
Ioannis Skondras read the situation better than anyone and found himself totally unmarked to head the ball beyond Scott Bain.
Accies made it a long way back for Dundee when David Templeton fired a low show past Bain following an Imrie free kick.
They gave themselves hope when Skondras handled in the box and A-Jay Leitch-Smith blasted the ball home from the spot.
However it was Accies who ended the scoring when sub Antonio Raul Rojano bundled the ball home from close range.