Legzdins hands the credit for spot-kick save to coach
ADAM LEGZDINS had two people to thank for helping him make a vital penalty save against Arbroath — Dundee’s goalkeeping coach Rab Geddes and partner Lilly. Geddes had done his homework on Michael McKenna and, when he stepped up in the first half to take the spot-kick, Legzdins had a good idea which way he would send it. Lilly had also done her bit by giving the 34-year-old Englishman a night off from new-baby duties. Legzdins went on to keep a clean sheet — Dundee’s first since last playing Arbroath at Dens Park on December 5 — as the Dark Blues pushed themselves back into the promotion play-off spots. ‘Rab is the one who should be getting the credit,’ said Legzdins, who made his first appearance since picking up a calf injury in November. ‘He does all the research and stats. It was up to me to execute all his hard work. ‘It’s about using the information at your disposal. Rab had informed me, like he does with all the keepers before any other game, so I made the decision and luckily it came off. Whoever was going to take it, we had an idea what was going to happen.’ The victory capped a memorable few weeks for Legzdins and his fiancée after the birth of daughter Lilac. The family have settled well
in Scotland since he signed in November after leaving Burnley, and the keeper admitted Saturday was the icing on the cake. ‘We were due to get married last summer but had to cancel because of Covid,’ added Legzdins. ‘Our daughter was born here on February 15, which was great. ‘My fiancée has been brilliant, doing a lot of the hard work since she arrived. ‘I have been let off a lot of the late shifts — but I am still doing my bit, trying to help when I can. I got a night off on Friday so I could be ready for the game. ‘We’re very happy here. It’s a lovely area with lovely people and I’m really enjoying the football club. ‘Getting in the team is the icing on the cake — hopefully I can keep enjoying it and stay in the team.’ Recalled at Jack Hamilton’s expense, Legzdins made his first save in the 14th minute from a long-range McKenna shot. He did even better in the 31st minute after Jason Thomson went down under a challenge in the home box by on-loan Spurs teenager Malachi Fagan-Walcott and referee Willie Collum awarded the penalty. Diving low to his left, he made a sharp block from McKenna. Dundee’s Danny Mullen made amends for an earlier miss when he sent a downward header past Derek Gaston from Paul McMullan’s cross. James McPake’s side finally put the game to bed in the 83rd minute thanks to a Max Anderson strike. Now Legzdins is determined to keep the No 1 jersey when Ayr visit tomorrow night. ‘I came here wanting to play games. We have a really good group and Rab drives everybody on,’ he added. ‘We all want to play but we know that’s not possible. ‘I could have gone to other places and not played, but I was only interested in people who wanted to give me a chance.’
DUNDEE (4-4-2): Legzdins; Fagan-Walcott (Fisher 64), Mullen (Adam 56), McGowan, McDaid; Ashcroft, Elliott, McMullan, Marshall; Anderson, Cummings (Sow 72). Subs not used: Hamilton, Kerr, Byrne, Afolabi. Booked: Anderson, Adam, Sow. ARBROATH (4-4-2): Gaston; Thomson, C Hamilton, Little, O’Brien; McKenna (Linn 74), Stewart, Williamson (Moore 64), J Hamilton (Doolan 79); Hilson, Craigen. Subs not used: Gallacher, Whatley, Gold, Pignatiello. Booked: Thomson. Man of the match: Paul McMullan. Referee: Willie Collum.