Shankland turns Dark Blues green with envy
Neil McCann last night hammered his shambolic nine-man Dundee side – then admitted losing 3-0 to Championship side Ayr flattered them on the day. The subject of a recent transfer bid by Dundee, Ayr’s much-coveted striker Lawrence Shankland sent McCann’s men spinning out of the Betfred Cup on an embarrassing afternoon for the disjointed Dark Blues. Shankland struck a second-half double prior to Michael Moffat’s late clincher as Ian McCall’s side out-performed their Premiership opponents who went another week without scoring, and were badly let down by both Sofien Moussa and Genseric Kusunga who lost the plot towards the end with their respective dismissals. Dens Park boss McCann said: “It was really poor from Moussa and Gensy. “I told Moussa he can’t make silly fouls, especially the one where he dives down to make a tackle when he’s already on a yellow card. This is a very dangerous game, and he paid the price for making a poor challenge. “For whatever reason, he has lost his composure. “Gensy has then lost his composure at the end and is now banned for next weekend which adds insult to injury. “Moussa being sent off has had a great impact on the game. “As a team, there were not too many plus marks. “It was just a terrible performance. “Ayr were very good, and if anything the 3-0 scoreline flattered us.” New Dundee signing Benjamin Kallman was on the bench having signed the day before on loan from FC Inter Turku. Adil Nabi and Craig Wighton both started following the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Aberdeen the previous weekend, while Moussa dropped to the bench. For the visitors, Shankland was entrusted with leading the line and he didn’t disappoint. Nabi, the former West Brom youngster, was eager to impress and his speculative free kick from long-distance ensured Ross Doohan, the visiting keeper, had to be vigilant. Midway through the first half, Nabi wasn’t far away with a curling effort from 25 yards. Ayr ought to have taken the lead in 38 minutes. Andy Murdoch latched on to Moffat’s cut-back after the forward had dispossessed Kharl Madianga. Murdoch’s shot was heading for the top corner until Dundee keeper Jack Hamilton tipped it over. Kallman was thrown on for Dundee at the break but it was Shankland who struck. A thunderous kick downfield by Doohan caught out the Dundee defence, and Shankland wasted no time in hammering a left-foot finish high into the net. This should have spurred the hosts on but instead they lurched from one setback to another. Moussa, their much-maligned Tunisian forward, was like a man possessed when he came on, failing to control his anger, leading to a 67th-minute booking for a foul on Daniel Harvie, before losing it altogether with a barge on Mark Kerr ten minutes later to signal his second yellow card. Shankland then helped himself to his second from Harvie’s cross after 86 minutes. Moffat wrapped things up with a simple finish a minute from the end, then Kusunga’s shocking challenge on the striker earned the Dundee man a straight red card. Dundee were booed off at the end by their own fans and much more of this won’t be tolerated.