The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)

‘Dogged’ Dark Blues find bite for Mcmullan to pick up points

- GEORGE CRAN AT DENS PARK

Dundee were “dogged” in their determinat­ion to take three points from a scrappy performanc­e against Hamilton.

That’s what pleased manager Gary Bowyer after Paul Mcmullan’s 57thminute winner made it three victories in a row.

The three points pushed the Dark Blues to within a point of leaders Ayr United after they dropped points at Inverness.

The display may not have reached the levels of a week earlier versus Raith Rovers but Bowyer was pleased to see a different side to the Dark Blues against the Championsh­ip’s bottom team.

“It’s a good win for us, we weren’t at our fluid best,” said Bowyer.

“Hamilton came with a gameplan and we were too slow with the ball.

“It was scrappy and it wasn’t the type of game I expected from both sides.

“But once we got our noses in front we showed a different side. We were dogged and showed great desire to get over the line and that was impressive from us.”

The deciding moment in the game came following a half-time switch that saw Cillian Sheridan replaced by Zak Rudden after a hamstring issue kept him out against Raith.

Rudden got on to a long ball before beating his man and sending in a fine cross for Mcmullan to tap home in the middle.

“We’ve talked for a while about the impact of players coming off the bench and Rudden was terrific, his movement was excellent,” Bowyer added.

“The ball from Ben Williamson, who I thought again played well for us, was terrific. Rudds showed composure to beat the lad and put the cross in and Paul did well to get on the end of it.”

The opening 45 minutes wasn’t a half to remember.

It was Accies who came closest to opening the scoring only for Ian Lawlor to deny them with a superb sprawling save.

The rebound from Andrew Winter’s effort dropped in the six-yard box but Ryan Sweeney was there to stick his head in where boots were flying, winning a free-kick as Jean-pierre Tiehi swung for the ball.

The Dark Blues upped their game in the secondhalf with Lee Ashcroft denied on the line four minutes after the break.

They finally broke the deadlock on 56 minutes.

The only goal of the game came through super forward play from Rudden.

The substitute latched on to a Williamson pass, beating his man and laying the ball on a plate for Mcmullan to finish at the far post.

Dundee suffered a blow with in-form frontman Zach Robinson limping off after an hour.

Accies were still well in the game and just inches away from a leveller as Reegan Mimnaugh curled a superb effort off the corner of post and bar from 25 yards. The ball then hit the opposite post before being cleared.

The Dark Blues, though, saw the game out to seal what could prove a vital three points.

Goalkeeper Lawlor came up with big saves at key moments to earn a deserved clean sheet.

He has not always been a crowd favourite in his time at Dens but goalie Lawlor is yet to taste defeat this season, having played the last five games.

This was the third victory and third clean sheet in that run but he was far busier against Accies than in any of the previous four.

An excellent save kept it goalless in the first half before he denied Dario Zanatta with another good stop after the break.

Overall, it was a very solid performanc­e capped with some key saves earning the points for the Dark Blues.

In the opening half Lawlor denied Andrew Winter with a superb stop before keeping a Zanatta header out with the score still at 0-0.

“Ian came up with a great save and I am delighted for him,” said Bowyer. “He kept a clean sheet last week and he has backed it up again this week.

“There is great competitio­n there. We have used three keepers this season for different reasons but Ian has grabbed his opportunit­y.”

Bowyer stuck with the same backline that saw the Dark Blues through at Partick Thistle and last week against Raith.

The back three was in place but things changed in attack with three enforced changes.

Max Anderson and Joe Grayson were out with injuries picked up against Rovers while Josh Mulligan was sent home from Scotland U21 duty with a knock.

He was fit enough for the bench, however. Incoming were a first start for Shaun Byrne since August 6, a return for Williamson and a spot up front for Sheridan.

That only lasted 45 minutes as Rudden took his place at half-time and made a big impact in the second half. Derick Osei and Fin Robertson also came off the bench to help their side to victory.

Injuries are mounting up for the Dens men. Apart from Grayson and Anderson, Paul Mcgowan and Jordan Marshall were also sidelined at Dens.

Now Robinson may be added to that list. And Bowyer revealed Williamson and Tyler French also have complaints.

“Robinson had a tight hamstring but hopefully he’ll be OK,” said the manager.

“Williamson and French we’ll have to assess too. We had a few missing but we carried a few as well.

“The weather and heavy pitches this week – it’s not an excuse – but it has probably had an impact. We’ll see how they are next week.”

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 ?? ?? GOAL-GETTER: Paul Mcmullan turns away in celebratio­n after grabbing the winner at Dens Park, below, for a third win in a row.
GOAL-GETTER: Paul Mcmullan turns away in celebratio­n after grabbing the winner at Dens Park, below, for a third win in a row.
 ?? ?? Ryan Sweeney dives in to thwart Jean-pierre Tiehi’s effort for Hamilton from point-blank range.
Ryan Sweeney dives in to thwart Jean-pierre Tiehi’s effort for Hamilton from point-blank range.
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