The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dark Blues scorer eyes chances to celebrate
Ngwatala’s stunning strike counts for nothing as visitors pay for mistakes in Paisley
Elton Ngwatala had his joy at scoring his first Dundee goal curtailed by the errors of others.
However, he hopes there will be many more chances to celebrate.
The 25-year-old French midfielder should have had a day to remember in Paisley on Saturday as he got off the mark for his new club with a cracking equaliser against St Mirren.
However, he had to look on in despair as the Dark Blues chucked the opening league game away, losing 2-1 largely thanks to striker Sofien Moussa’s failure to score a penalty and goalkeeper Jack Hamilton’s howler that led directly to the Buddies’ winning goal.
Ngwatala didn’t try to hide his disappointment at his 12th-minute debut strike ultimately counting for nothing but he promised that there will be more to come from him this season.
He said: “I think everybody now just has their heads down because when you concede a goal like that you just think: ‘Wow.’
“I think right now we have to bounce back and do the right things for 90 or so minutes to get the win, whatever it takes.
“I guess my feeling is a bit 50-50 because I scored my first goal for Dundee but we lost the game.
“We missed the pen and we missed other chances as well, so we need to improve on that.
“I think when we get chances we have to take them.
“Yes, I expected him (Moussa) to score but in football you never know. You can miss or you can get the ball in the net so...
“As for me, I need to score goals and I hope to do so.
“I have a target but I’ll keep it to myself.
“I think 10 is my best in a season so maybe I can try to (beat that),” Ngwatala added.
Like the rest of the Dundee players, Ngwatala rallied around Hamilton after the final whistle to try to ease the goalie’s pain.
The keeper stood on the ball with just six minutes remaining and was robbed of possession, allowing Danny Mullen to score his second goal of the game and earn an unlikely victory for the hosts.
Asked if he had had a consoling word or two for his colleague, Ngwatala said: “Yes, of course.
“I said to him that mistakes happen in football.
“So he has to move forward now and think about next week.”