Dundee moved to the top of the Championship on goal difference following a hard fought goalless draw away to Arbroath. Both clubs worked hard for the full match, but neither could find the quality to take all three points. Paul McMullan came closest to giving Dundee the victory the large travelling support longed to see, but his first half shot cannoned off the post.
Dundee’s only change from the team that started against Hamilton was Paul McMullan taking the place of Zach Robinson following the striker’s head knock last week.
The kick off was delayed for five minutes to allow the large crowd into the ground. The Lichties got the game off to a hectic start, playing at a high tempo that unsettled the Dark Blues in the opening minutes.
Dundee held off Arbroath’s early charge and began to build attacks confidently. The Dark Blues were the more composed in possession through the first half, but the Lichties were always capable of creating danger with fast breaks.
Dundee had the better opportunities but couldn’t turn any of them into the crucial opening goal.
Paul McMullan raced clear of the Lichties defence onto a long ball down the left but keeper Derek Gaston got a foot to his low shot.
A good break through the middle by Luke McCowan gave Luke Hannant the chance to send over an inviting cross, but neither Jordan McGhee nor Josh Mulligan could take advantage.
McMullan had another good effort deflected wide for a corner after Mulligan dispossed Ryan Dow and raced down the right wing.
McMullan came desperately close to the opening goal at the end of the first half. McGhee headed a free kick down and McMullan sent a measured 18 yard shot against the post. The Lichties were able to scramble the ball away following the rebound.
The second half gave us more of the same. Both teams put in endless effort, but neither side could find a way to break through.
Frustratingly Dundee couldn’t create clear openings as they had done in the first half. Time and again the Dark Blues worked their way into promising positions but the final ball was never good enough to set up a worthwhile chance.
Arbroath continued to work and fight furiously, repeatedly giving the Dee defence awkward problems. To their credit the defence handled everything competently. The Lichties didn’t have any real chances and Adam Legzdins wasn’t called on to make anything more than easy saves.
Arbroath’s best two efforts of the game came from second half free kicks by Michael McKenna. Both were from 20 yards and neither was far off target.
After 74 minutes Kwame Thomas came on for Alex Jakubiak and Pierre Reedy made his debut as a substitute for Luke McCowan.
The Dark Blues continued to push for a winner but the attacks lacked composure and conviction. Too often the ball was lost with poor passes or the wrong decisions.
The final whistle was greeted with more enthusiasm by the home support than the travelling Dees. Nobody could argue that either team truly did enough to win, but neither side deserved to lose a game that so many players had put so much effort into. Unfortunately the Dark Blues couldn’t find the touches of quality they needed to take all three points, the touches that gave them such convincing wins in their previous two games.
A draw with a clean sheet at a very difficult venue should not be sneered at. Arbroath have been in fine form and, predictably, they were very tough opponents. A draw might not have been the result we all wanted, but it was enough to take the Dee into pole position only three weeks after they were seven points adrift.
Arbroath FC 4-2-3-1
Gaston
Banks, Little, O’Brien, Hetherington
Gold (Allan 78), Baldé (Tait 62)
Stewart, McKenna, Dow
Hilson (Adarkwa 78)
Unused subs: Gill (gk), Jacobs, Tait, Olusunya, El-Mhanni.
Booked: O’Brien (foul on Cameron), Baldé (foul on McMullan), Little (foul on McCowan).
Dundee FC 4-4-2
Legzdins
Mulligan, Ashcroft, Sweeney (c), Marshall
McCowan (Reedy 74), McGhee, Cameron , Hannant
Jakubiak (Thomas 74), McMullan
Unused subs: Lawlor (gk), Byrne, Robertson, Williamson, Fisher, Clampin, Maguire.
Booked: Ashcroft (foul on Hilson), McCowan (foul on Dow), McGhee (foul on McKenna).
Referee: Scott Lambie. Assistants: Douglas Ross, Scott Anderson.
Attendance: 5,563 (3,036 Dees).
Report: James Christie.
