Battling Dundee climb safely clear
AS the applause echoed round Dens Park and he departed to a standing ovation in the 90th minute, it would have been in keeping with the afternoon’s events had Craig Wighton trotted over to the touchline and sold the fourth official a dummy.
In the 20-year-old winger, Dundee possessed this game’s outstanding performer. Ritually embarrassing the Hamilton backline at every opportunity, he fully justified his selection in the Scotland Under-21s squad for this summer’s Toulon tournament with a mesmeric display.
For manager Neil McCann, the sight of the youngster shredding opposition defenders added a touch of artistry to a result which effectively confirms their continued residency in the Premiership.
After missing most of the season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury, Wighton’s return over recent weeks has sparked McCann’s side; they look dangerous and creative going forward.
The contribution of Elliot Parish was also deserving of praise, the Dundee goalkeeper saving a late penalty from Dougie Imrie.
But, on a day when team-mate Mark O’Hara left the pitch in need of dental treatment, it was Wighton who duly sunk his teeth into Accies by assisting Kevin Holt’s winner in a performance that had his manager salivating.
‘He has come back over the past few weeks and it genuinely is like making a new signing outside of the window,’ said McCann. ‘He’s such a talented boy and he was immense.
‘He worked so hard physically to bulk up when he was out injured, in much the same way as Lewis Morgan did at St Mirren.
‘It feels good to now be safe from any danger of the automatic (relegation) position. There is still a bit of work to be done before we can say we are definitely safe, but we have put ourselves in a really good position.
‘I said to the lads at the start of the split that I wanted five wins from five. That’s two from three now, so we can’t argue too much with that.
‘We identified this match as the big one. We knew the magnitude of it and what a victory could do for us in terms of the league table.
‘In the second half, Hamilton came back into it and you could feel a slight nervousness in the stadium.
‘When they got the penalty, I was thinking: “Here we go again”. But you need players to produce big moments when you’re fighting for your life and our keeper did that.
‘The players are delighted with the result but we aren’t celebrating too much. We knew we still need to get over the line and you can’t afford to be complacent.’
The opening period can best be described as agricultural, summed up by the fact that a horrible clash of heads between O’Hara and Danny Redmond was more noteworthy than anything involving the ball. McCann later revealed that O’Hara lost his two front teeth in the collision.
But the game sparked into life thereafter and, predictably, it was Wighton who was the architect of the breakthrough on 18 minutes.
Dipping his shoulder to engineer a yard of space for himself high on the left, his cutback picked out Holt, who had advanced into the penalty area from left-back.
Taking a touch to set himself, Holt then thumped a left-foot shot into the far top corner. Hamilton keeper Gary Woods barely moved, such was its power and accuracy.
The goal breathed fresh energy and confidence into Dundee, whose efforts to extend their advantage were curtailed by a series of cynical fouls and body-checks from their opponents. That Accies finished the match with only four bookings was quite remarkable.
The improvement from Martin Canning’s side after the interval was considerable. Rakish Bingham was the first to go close, grazing the outside of the post with a driven free-kick on 50 minutes.
Antonio Rojano then saw a diving header ripple the side-netting as Accies searched for an equaliser.
At the other end, Dundee right-back Cammy Kerr tainted an otherwise terrific display with a ludicrous dive inside the box.
There was no simulation involved in the challenge which saw young Dundee defender Daniel Jefferies clatter into Marios Ogkmpoe at the expense of an 86th-minute penalty.
Imrie, normally so reliable from the spot, made a mess of it on this occasion, scuffing the penalty. Parish made the initial save with his legs and smothered it before anyone could pounce on the rebound.
‘Dougie is gutted, but he’s a big character and he’ll bounce back,’ said Canning, who looks set to lose Lewis Ferguson on a pre-contract to Aberdeen in the summer.
‘It doesn’t change our objective. We still need one more win to be safe.’