Forecast looks bleak as Dee are washed away by Saints deluge
It was a wet and wild Tayside derby at Dens.
And after slick St Johnstone mopped up the points, dismal Dundee found themselves slips liding down the table.
Saints, without a win at the home of their local rivals in almost three years, demolished their hosts thanks to a Jordan Piggott own-goal, a Chris Kane double and a Blair Alston strike.
It was a victory as emphatic as they come – and kept Saints’ faint top six hopes alive.
But for Dundee, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
With four games to go until the split, they find themselves only three points above the play-off place and just seven above the relegation trapdoor.
The pressure is building – and it showed at full-time.
With the players heading for the tunnel, Dee gaffer Neil McCann and assistant Graham Gartland become embroiled in a tussle while passing the Saints dugout.
Video appeared to show McCann making contact with Perth back-up keeper Zander Clark’s face before Gartland was led away by former Saints teammate Liam Craig.
Tommy Wright then accused the Dundee management team of waiting for him and his players a in the tunnel.
Ultimately, it was an ugly end to yet another ugly afternoon for McCann’s side on their own patch. The truth is, it started badly too. The Dark Blues’ last win at Dens came in mid-December, and they started fearfully.
Saints were desperate to arrest their own slump and were quickly in total control of the game.
Steven MacLean was first to try his luck, letting fly with a volley from 25 yards that sailed just wide.
The Perth side’s slick passing, lightning movement and aggressive pressing had Dundee reeling, and keeper Elliott Parish had to think fast to gather Liam Craig’s deflected free-kick.
It was one-way traffic and Saints claimed the lead on 24 minutes when Murray Davidson’s effort smashed off Dundee’s Jordan Piggott, wrong-footed Parish and trundled over the line.
The home side, without midfield duo Paul McGowan and Glen Kamara, found themselves repeatedly overrun.
Saints were first to everything while Dundee dithered – and the visitors almost stretched their lead when Scott Tanser curled a terrific free-kick on to the post.
It was only a matter of time, however, and Chris Kane put Saints two up with an easy sidefoot finish after the criminally slack Josh Meekings allowed MacLean to nick the ball on the byline.
Dundee’s only moment of note in the first-half came when Simon Murray gambled on a ball over the top and found himself one-onone with Alan Mannus, only for Tanser to slide in from behind with the clearing challenge.
The Dens Park punters rose to demand a penalty, but Craig Thomson was having none of it.
Dundee badly needed to come out swinging in the second-half. Instead, they came out swaying. Saints made it 3-0 just after the hour when Kane sprung the offside trap and bore down on goal.
With only Parish to beat, the striker should have scored, but turned into trouble and lost the ball.
Blair Alston was on hand to spare his blushes, slamming home the loose ball from 16 yards.
Two minutes later, Kane made up for his miss, slamming a rightfooted effort high into the top corner after drawing Parish from his goal.
With the majority of the Dundee support long gone, Saints saw the game out to a chorus of “Oles” from their own fans.
It is a sound nobody in Dark Blue will want to hear again for a long time.