The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Mcpake unhappy to watch points slip
Dundee boss James Mcpake says his side should have been “out of sight” in the first half at Arbroath before the Red Lichties fought back to earn a Championship point at Gayfield last night.
Ricky Little’s second-half header cancelled out Charlie Adam’s opening goal from the penalty spot after eight minutes and Mcpake was disappointed to see his side let their winning position slip.
“I’m disappointed in the manner of the goal we conceded,” he said.
“We created enough chances in the first half to be out of sight.
“I can let Osman Sow off a wee bit because it’s a fantastic save from Derek Gaston but Danny Mullen’s one has to be a goal.
“We have to defend our box better and for someone to head the ball four yards in front of your goal unmarked is criminal at any level of football.”
“Set-plays are huge and we put a lot of work into them but that’s what let us down,” added the manager.
“We should have come away with three points.”
As well as dropping two points, Mcpake saw three key players limp off during the contest with Jordan Mcghee, Danny Mullen and Liam Fontaine all enforced changes.
He added: “It was a huge blow and disrupted the flow of the game. To lose three key players in your system is hard but that’s football, you have to deal with that.
“We’ll assess them and get them ready for Tuesday.”
Arbroath boss Dick Campbell said a rally of the troops at half-time spurred his side onto a point.
Campbell’s side remain bottom of the table but moved to within a single point of Alloa Athletic.
And he says a point apiece was a fair reflection of last night’s game as he accepted the referee’s decision to point to the spot following Tam O’brien’s handball.
“I’ve never been happy with a point at home in my life but there wasn’t much in the game,” said Campbell.
“First half they got a lucky break with the penalty kick – it was a penalty by the rules – and had another chance after it to score.
“But once I got hold of them a wee bit at half-time and rallied the troops it was a totally different game in the second half.
“The middle of the second half I thought it was oneway traffic. Then the last five or 10 minutes Dundee’s full-time training kicked in and we looked tired.
“I suppose I’m happy with a point – we’re a point closer to getting off the bottom anyway.”