Dundee returned to Ladbrokes Premiership duty after the international break and took on Kilmarnock at Dens; a side they failed to beat at home last season.
Dundee made two changes from the side which drew the last game at Fir Park with Michael Duffy, who got injured while with Northern Ireland and Danny Williams dropping out and Craig Wighton and Tom Hateley coming in with Hateley making his Dark Blue debut after signing in midweek.
Dundee started the game in lively fashion and were on the front foot immediately with Craig Wighton trying his luck twice from the edge of the box which were both blocked by the despairing dives of the defenders.
Kris Boyd then had a header from around 12 yards which looped into Scott Bain’s hands but it didn’t take Dundee long to take the lead.
With seven minutes gone Cammy Kerr was brought down at the attacking corner flag and when new boy Tom Hateley fired the free kick into the 6 yard box, Faissal EL BAKHTAOUI fired the ball into the roof of the net from close range to give Dundee the lead and score his first goal for The Dee.
Kilmarnock tried to get back into the game immediately with Kris Boyd having a couple of chances but he was wasteful with first firing a shot from just inside the box high into the Shankly Stand and then heading a Coulibaly cross straight at Bain from 12 yards moments later.
El Bahktaoui and Wighton combined well on Dundee’s next real attack when they played a one-two on the edge of the box but Wighton’s cross was cleared by Scott Boyd and when Killie went immediately up the park, namesake Kris fired just wide from 18 yards.
Kilmarnock did however get back on level terms in sensational style on 32 minutes. Dean Hawkshaw played a cross into the Dundee box from the right and Souleymane COULIBALY scored with an overhead kick on the far corner of the six yard box which sent the ball back the way it came and past Scott Bain.
Four minutes later Dundee were forced to make a substitution when Darren O’Dea limped off to be replaced by Julen Etxabeguren and the Basque defender was forced into action straight away when he had to head a high ball into the Dundee box away from Coulibaly.
Dundee were enjoying a lot of possession and when El Bahktaoui squared the ball along the 18 yard line to Kevin Holt, the left back fired his shot just wide of MacDonald’s left hand post.
The Frenchman continued to look Dundee’s main threat with a cross into the six yard box which was gathered by MacDonald before a shot from about 12 yards flew past the right hand post.
There was no further scoring before the break as the sides went in level with Kilmarnock probably the happier considering the 62% possession that Dundee had in the first half.
Kilmarnock got the second period underway in the sunshine but it was Dundee who had the first chance of the half and what a chance it was. McGowan played Wighton into the Killie box and when he shot low from an angle 16 yards out, MacDonald did well to save the effort with his feet. The ball rebounded to the Dundee youngster but he hit his second effort back at MacDonald’s feet when he had a a clear shot at goal.
Coulibaly was a handful for the Dundee defence and fired a shot high and wide from 35 yards and when Tom Hateley tried from a similar distance five minutes later, his effort just fizzed over the Killie bar.
Dundee then put a number of crosses into the Kilmarnock box to little effect with O’Hara heading over from 12 yards and Wighton failing to connect with an El Bahktaoui cross from the right. El Bahktaoui then tried his luck from distance and when his shot was deflected behind, Tom Hateley took the corner which was cleared at the front post by Hawkshaw.
Dundee looked liked they were going for the win when Paul Hartley brought on strikers Loy and Teijsee with 15 minutes left but it was Kilmarnock who produced the next chance when Coulibaly turned in the six yard box but Holt did brilliantly to slide in and concede a corner.
With eight minutes left Dundee’s game plan was in tatters when home debutant Kevin Gomis slide in with two feet on Charlee Adams and was given a deserved red card.
Adams was stretchered off to be replaced by George Green but it was the ten men who immediately created some chances. Both Loy and O’Hara had shots from around the penalty spot blocked by defenders diving in and then El Bahktaoui bent a shot just past the left hand post from the edge of the box.
Teijsse had another chance when he headed a Nick Ross free kick over the Killie bar before Holt and then Etxabeguren had to slide in and tackle Coulibaly before he could shoot from the middle of Dundee’s box.
Both sides put crosses into their opponents boxes which were easily dealt with and the game in the end finished 1-1.
Both managers might be frustrated with that result and for Dundee it’s a third draw in a row from a game they looked more than capable of winning for the majority of the afternoon.
Dundee: Bain, Holt, O’Dea (Etxabeguren 36’), Hateley (Loy 73’), O’Hara, Ross, McGowan, El Bakhtaoui, Kerr, Wighton (Teijsse 73’), Gomis
Subs: Mitchell, Low, Williams, Smith
Goals: El Bahktaoui (7 mins)
Bookings: Hateley (42 mins dangerous play),, McGowan (48 mins dangerous play)
Sent Off: Gomis (82 mins violent conduct)
Kilmarnock: MacDonald, Smith, Dicker, K. Boyd, S. Boyd, Burn, Coulibaly, Frizzell (Jones 65’) McKenzie, Hendrie, Hawkshaw (Adams 73’) (Green 83’)
Subs: MacKay, Boyle, Kayode, Morrison
Goals: Coulibaly (32’)
Bookings: Scott Boyd (84 mins dangerous play), Green (86 mins dangerous play)
Referee: Don Robertson
Attendance: 5111 (315 Kilmarnock fans)
