The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
McGowan gets one up on boo-boys
Dark Blues midfielder shrugs off the jeers of Thistle fans to put in a match-winning display
Paul McGowan struck for the second time in as many matches and was lavish in his praise of the Dark Blues defence – and referee Bobby Madden for his Christmas spirit.
McGowan was the subject of some jeers from the Thistle fans every time he touched the ball, but the pint-sized midfielder did what he does best and turned in a five-star performance and popped up with the winning goal.
It also gave Dundee the confidence of back-to-back wins going into this Friday’s Dundee derby at Tannadice.
McGowan said: “It’s two goals in two, so I have to be happy with that. It was always going to be a tough game coming to Firhill and the first goal was going to be crucial.
“Scott Fox made a few unbelievable saves. I was with him at Celtic and I know what he is capable of.
“They penned us in for the last five minutes but that was always going to happen. But it was a good performance, clean sheet and three points.”
The Firhill side almost went in front after 21 minutes when Joe Cardle and Reece Cole combined to set up former Dee striker Kenny Miller, but his 15-yard angled drive crashed back of the underside of the crossbar.
After a string of good opportunities for Dundee came and went, the Dark Blues finally got what was to prove to be the winner on 32 minutes.
Kane Hemmings, who was at the forefront of so much that was good all afternoon, was the provider, drilling in a cross to the back post.
McGowan turned sharply and blasted the ball high into the net past ex-Dens goalkeeper Fox.
The Dens midfielder whirled away to celebrate to the maximum, running to the Thistle fans, ears cupped, and enjoyed every minute of it.
McGowan said: “I’m not used to celebrating. I was getting a bit of stick from the Thistle fans, so it kind of shut them up a bit.”
The goal hero thought he was heading for a yellow card when he was called over by referee Madden.
McGowan said: “Bobby Madden said to me, ‘I’m going to book you, Gowser’. I said ‘what?’. Then he said, ‘I’m only joking’.
“He is one of the better referees and I thought he had a good game. It’s always good to get a bit of banter with them.
“To be fair, I didn’t run off the pitch. He’ll probably get stick for it.”
McGowan stressed how Saturday’s victory was vital to the Dark Blues after almost throwing away three points seven days earlier against Dunfermline.
“Last week we were 4-1 cruising, playing some great football then there was a mad 15/20 minutes,” added McGowan.
“It’s hard to put your finger on it, we have worked tirelessly in training to stop it and it paid off today.
“I thought the back four were tremendous, putting their body in the way and making it difficult for their strikers and wingers.
We were out of it for a few weeks and with the squad we’ve got we shouldn’t have been, but that’s football. PAUL MCGOWAN
“We’ve not had a clean sheet in a long time. We were out of it for a few weeks and with the squad we’ve got we shouldn’t have been, but that’s football.
“If you’re not winning games and performing to the standard then you are where you are in the table and the table doesn’t lie.
“We’ve shown in stages how good we can be, but on the other side how bad we can be.
“It’s about getting that balance when we’re not playing great to nick one-nils and get an ugly win, we’ve not had many of them.
“Dundee United are winning week in and week out and doing terrific.
“We had the chance to close the gap to three points the last time we met them and we blew it, so we just have to take one game at a time.”
Dens boss James McPake singled out defender Josh Meekings for special praise.
He said: “I thought he was excellent. We’ve been desperate to get him back, but we needed him back and fit and strong as he’s had quite a bad time with two serious injuries, as had Graham Dorrans.
“It was weird on the side, at 1-0 you’re expecting something to go wrong but on Saturday I felt pretty comfortable. If we had come away winning 3-0, I don’t think there would have been too many complaints.”
Although the Jags probably edged it in possession, they were limp in the final third apart from on 75 minutes when Miller, who turns 40 today, belied his age with a clever turn at the edge of the area and first-time curling shot which looked destined for the top corner until Dundee goalkeeper Jack Hamilton threw himself full length to his left to claw the ball round.
Jags veteran Miller, who spent last season at Dens, said: “There wasn’t a lot in the game. It was frustrating.
“There were positives to take out of the game, but also a lot of negatives.
“It was a disappointing result, especially in front of our home fans.
“We are looking to build and look upwards. We are taking steps forward and then another step back.
“Ultimately we’ve not put enough points on the board. There are good players in that dressing room who can do a lot more.”