Hartley’s men finally lift the winter gloom
Dundee get back on track in style
IF the opposition could hardly have been more compliant, Saturday’s performance from Dundee still merited credit for lifting spirits and relieving some of the tension in the Dens Park air. They needed this. And how.
A first league victory since early November, and only their second home win in the Premiership this season, is the kind of statistic that damns Dundee with faint praise.
The depth and breadth of their ambition against a cowed and rattled Motherwell side deserved better than that.
Sure, there were still grumbles from some fans during the later stages of a dominant afternoon as the Dark Blues failed to fully press home their advantage — in goals and numbers — f ollowing the dismissal of Henrik Ojamaa late in the first half.
However, just nine days after crossing the road to see their heroes endure a derby demolition at the hands of their city rivals, the fans could at least see some merit in the sense of adventure Paul Hartley has instilled in this team.
With on-loan Hibs winger Alex Harris full of dangerous running and the front pairing of David Clarkson and Greg Stewart simply far too cute for a visiting defence in dire need of some sharp drills on the training ground, any doubt about the result didn’t last long.
Ahead in three minutes as a Harris shot deflected wildly past Dan Twardzik — following a superb pass from Clarkson — the home team went two up with only eight minutes gone.
A Clarkson flick-on was buried by the head of Stewart, who reacted sharply after his shot on goal was turned on to the bar by Twardzik.
Although Motherwell got one back in the 19th minute — John Sutton finishing off a good move with an excellent near-post finish — it represented a mere interruption in the one-sided flow.
When Twardzik dropped a Stewart corner at the feet of Gary Irvine 15 minutes later, the full-back gleefully lashed the ball home to reassert Dundee’s supremacy. A position strengthened when Ojamaa (right) directed a swinging arm at Kevin Thomson j ust before t he break and was sent off by referee Stephen Finnie.
Hartley was forced into the rarely- seen triple substitution early in the second half, sending on Willie Dyer, Luka Tankulic and Gary Harkins for Irvine, Jim McAlister and Thomson.
Although all three departing players had taken knocks, their replacements each appeared to have been given licence to attack. Only one more goal was to follow, a quite comical o.g. f rom Motherwell central defender Mark O’Brien, who had been doing so well in shepherding the ball back to Twardzik until … well, you’d have to see it to believe it! With Harri s a nd Paul McGowan now i n central midfield, Tankulic running free up front and Harkins doing t hat deceptive ambling thing where he almost walks past markers, it was something of a quirk that Dundee failed to bag more. For all involved, though, there was a feeling of release. Of justification in sticking to their principles — even when results have gone against them.
Irvine, struggling with a rib injury that was affecting his breathing, freely admitted that Dundee fans needed something to lift spirits — especially after that 6-2 gubbing just a few hundred yards up the street.
‘The fans have been entitled to give us stick, especially after the derby result,’ he said. ‘ The pl ayers were frustrated, so that f rustration would also be there with the supporters.
‘As l ong as we keep doing the right things and get them cheering again, that’s all that matters. It was always going to be a tough season for us and, in almost five years here at Dens, teams always seem to be up when they come here. But, against Motherwell, everything seemed to come together for us.
‘We are a direct team, we like to attack, express ourselves and go forward. We’ve spoken about the lack of clean sheets here, whether we’re leaving ourselves vulnerable at the back. So it’s something we’ve worked on in training —– and hope to keep getting better at. ‘But, with a scoreline like that and the way the game went — Motherwell getting a man sent off — it allowed us to get our confidence up. ‘ It’ s s omething we’ve been looking f or. It definitely f eels good after the run we’ve been on — and we could even have chipped in with a few more. ‘ The three who came off the bench to replace Kevin, Jim and I showed we have good strength in depth.’ Dundee will need a bit of depth if they are to maintain the momentum created by this mini-revival. Especially as they travel to Pittodrie at the weekend.
It’s safe to say the opposition there may prove much tougher to crack.