The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Adam holds his hands up over howler as Dundee staring into the abyss
Skipper admits blunder made it ‘so much harder’ for struggling Dark Blues
Dundee skipper Charlie Adam admits Saturday’s performance at St Mirren wasn’t acceptable as the Dark Blues appear destined for the drop.
He was quick to hold his hands up for his catastrophic error that gifted the Buddies an easy opening goal after just four minutes in Paisley.
After cooling down a St Mirren attack, Adam inexplicably passed the ball across his own box, giving Alex Greive a simple finish.
“I take responsibility for the first goal,” Adam said.
“You come away from home and in the first 10 or 15 minutes you try to keep it tight.
“I have tried to be clever and play it back to the goalie but it was never on and I should have just cleared my lines. I accept what I have done.
“It put us under pressure so early on, especially with the position we are in.
“You need to try and build confidence and to then put your team-mates under that pressure is difficult.
“I have to hold my hands up for it and it makes it so much harder for us.
“We had started quite brightly and we done that last week against Aberdeen as well but we never got anything there either.
“In the second half we huffed and puffed but we looked like a team who was getting relegated and that’s not acceptable.
“We have to put in a performance in the next two games as the fans have paid good money to come and watch us and I’m hurting for them.
“They travel in big numbers but as a group we haven’t been good enough for them and we accept responsibility for that.”
Dundee still have to play Hibs in their final home match of the season tomorrow before finishing up at Livingston on Sunday.
They haven’t won in front of their home fans since December 1 and Adam says showing a bit of fight, even if it is too late, is the least the Dark Blues can do this week.
“We went down with a whimper,” he admits.
“We have played well in spells but we haven’t really had a go, we have huffed and puffed all year.
“We have got a few good results here and there but we haven’t been able to put a string of results together and that’s what you need in this league.
“To be honest I don’t think we have been good enough and we deserve the situation we are in.
“We haven’t scored enough goals, we haven’t kept enough clean sheets either. That’s down to everyone, not one or two people.
“We have to show pride in the last two games 2 0
for the fans and for ourselves.
“The next few weeks are huge for the club as a whole.”
As expected, young goalkeeper Harry Sharp kept his place between the sticks after impressing at Aberdeen last weekend with Ian Lawlor not fit enough to sit on the bench.
Mark Mcghee made two changes, looking for goals, as Zak Rudden and Luke Mccowan came in. Max Anderson and Paul Mcmullan dropped to the bench.
The Dee started on the front foot, putting their hosts under pressure.
But a disastrous moment very quickly put the Dark Blues behind and right up against it.
Skipper Adam, a talisman for his boyhood team, had everything under control with the ball in his own corner.
Only he knows who he was passing to as he played a right-footed pass across his own box, giving Greive a tap-in right in front of goal.
The Dark Blues’ early momentum was gone and it was all St Mirren with only a superb save from Sharp stopping a goalbound Main header from making it 2-0 on 20 minutes.
Greg Kiltie then lined up a driven effort from the edge of the box that went narrowly past the post with Sharp beaten, before Adam fired a free-kick into the St Mirren wall at the other end.
Scott Tanser then picked out Conor Mccarthy
with a perfect cross but the Irishman could not get his header on target.
Dundee started the second half on top and only a brilliant Jak Alnwick save denied Ryan Sweeney an equaliser from Adam’s free-kick.
Jordan Mcghee then hit the post from close range.
Despite the Dee showing much more intent after the break, it didn’t last.
St Mirren’s first attack of the second period saw Main gather the ball in the area and smash a fine finish into the top corner.
From that point, there was no coming back for Dundee.
Only perfection will now see any comeback in the league table with Livingston’s late equaliser at St Johnstone delaying the inevitable.
Six points behind with six to play for and seven goals to make up, relegation is all but confirmed for the Dens Park side.
The Buddies are now mathematically safe but their manager Stephen Robinson insisted he had never been focusing on being dragged into it.
He added: “We were always aiming high.
“We’re absolutely safe but we’re trying to finish seventh. The fruits of our hard work are showing now.
“There’s been an intensity in the last two games and a press that has represented the people of Paisley.
“They’re a hard-working community and we want a team on the pitch that represents that.
“We’ll concentrate on finishing as high up as we can.
“The work to build for next season started a long time ago.”