Dundee went down to a 2-1 home defeat against Hibs at the Scot Foam Stadium this afternoon. Jair Tavares put Hibs ahead in the first half and Lewis Miller added the second after half time. Miller was sent off shortly afterwards but the Hibees held out under fierce pressure as the Dee fought back strongly. Although Owen Beck pulled a goal back the Dark Blues couldn’t rescue a game in which they fell short of their recent high standards for the first 60 minutes.
It was no surprise that Dundee fielded an unchanged team after the convincing win over St Mirren.
The game started slowly, neither side managing a shot in the first 10 minutes. The first effort came from Hibs when Josh Campbell ballooned over the bar from Jair Taveres’s cutback.
Amadou Bakayoko followed up with an equally skyward shot when a Hibs’ clearance was knocked straight back down the park and the Dee striker unsuccessfully tried to lob David Marshall.
Seconds later, after 16 minutes, Hibs were ahead. Taveres’s quick turn on the left and acceleration allowed him to race for the penalty area. He sent Dylan Vente wide into space, kept running and when the return pass arrived TAVARES scored with a low, first time shot from 12 yards.
The Dark Blues could hardly complain about falling behind. They had been sluggish in possession, unable to move the ball quickly or even hold onto it. Hibs had been more composed and less careless.
From the 20 minute mark Dundee perked up and began to mount serious attacks, without every clicking into a high tempo that could rattle Hibs. At least the Dee began to get shots on target and force David Marshall to earn his wages.
The Hibs keeper made a smart save at the expense of a corner from Luke McCowan’s fierce angled drive. He saved again from McCowan’s shot from the edge of the penalty area following the corner.
Dundee’s best, and only truly fluent, attack of the first half was again thwarted by Marshall. Lyall Cameron played a quick pass through the middle for Zak Rudden who flicked the ball back into the path of McCowan, racing into the penalty area. The Dee midfielder couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet quickly enough to give his shot power or direction and Marshall reacted quickly to save.
The last 25 minutes of the first half might have seen the Dee doing most of the attacking, but the attacks lacked conviction. The final passes and crosses were largely harmless and Hibs held their lead comfortably till the interval.
Owen Beck brought the second half to life with a superb, agressive run over the half way line past three Hibees. He might have been clean through on goal if he had got past Rocky Bushiri, but the defender stopped him with a crude foul. McCowan’s free kick from 35 yards struck the defensive wall.
The Dark Blues have been very impressive all season at both attacking and defensive set pieces, so it was disappointing when they shipped a simple goal from a corner after 58 minutes. Lewis MILLER climbed highest at the near post and headed into the top corner.
That was Miller’s final contribution. Within four minutes he was sent off. He had been booked for a foul on Beck in the first half and did the same again when the Welsh full attacked along the byline. That brought him his second yellow and the inevitable red card. Both teams were disappointed with the verdict of referee Don Robertson. Hibs didn’t think the foul was worth a booking, and the Dark Blues reckoned it was in the penalty area. Both claims were plausible. They were very much borderline decisions, leaving both Miller and Beck aggrieved.
Beck pulled the free kick back for Bakayoko whose shot was deflected into the arms of the grateful Marshall.
Hibs responded to the sending off by sending on defender Paul Hanlon for striker Dylan Vente. That made perfect sense, allowing Hibs to retain their defensive and midfield shape. They could sit back and hope the midfield could get forward quickly enough to support the lone striker. Hibs would have been in trouble if they’d had to chase the game with 10 men. As it was they coped well.
Dundee made aggressive attacking changes replacing Ricki Lamie with Charlie Reilly and then Lyall Cameron and Amadou Bakayoko with Scott Tiffoney and Zach Robinson. Reilly took up the right wing spot, with Tiffoney on the left. Dundee’s formation was basically 2-4-4. The new wide players, with Dundee pushing forward from midfield, stretched Hibs. Tiffoney hugged the left touchline allowing Owen Beck space to cut infield causing Hibs endless problems.
There was a weird miss when Beck whipped in a dangerous free kick. Antonio Portales was first to the cross in front of goal but ducked, seemingly thinking there was a better placed teammate behind him.
For all the attacking Dundee couldn’t find the right decisions or final balls to open up Hibs until the 86th minute. Reilly cut in from the right and his pass across the penalty area gave Beck space to shoot. Bushiri blocked, but BECK followed up to score through a crowd of players.
There were six minutes of added time in which Dundee racked up a series of corners. Nothing came of all the pressure. It was all too frantic and desperate.
The Dark Blues were short of their best today, especially for the first hour and can’t have any complaints about the result. The defence was caught out by a fast attack in the first half, and defended a corner poorly in the second half. Apart from that Hibs did not create much, but the same criticism could be made of Dundee. The Dark Blues sent countless crosses and passes into the penalty area, but most failed to find a Dee in a position to take advantage. Crucially, Hibs showed greater composure.
It was a disappointing afternoon but there was some encouragement. At 2-0 down after 60 minutes many teams might have given up. Dundee took charge in the last half hour , never gave Hibs a moment to relax and were always threatening to score. Owen Beck was again outstanding, and it was good to see Scott Tiffoney back from injury and making an effective contribution. Charlie Reilly also did well after coming off the bench giving Hibs a new problem and setting up the goal.
Games are won and lost by tight margins and this was certainly a tight game. Hibs won because they came out on top in more of the critical moments. Dundee will have to pick themselves up and get back on track next week.
Dundee FC 3-5-2
Carson
Portales, Shaughnessy (c), Lamie (Reilly 70)
McGhee, Cameron (Tifffoney 75), Boateng, McCowan, Beck
Bakayoko (Robinson 75), Rudden
Unused substitutes: Legzdins (gk), Kerr, Robertson, Howley, Donnelly, Sylla.
Goal: Beck (85).
Booked: Beck (foul on Campbell), Portales (foul on Tavares).
Hibs 4-4-2
Marshall
Miller, Fish, Bushiri, Obita
Campbell (Youan 56), Levitt (Jeggo 56), Newell (c), Tavares
Boyle (Doidge 75), Vente (Hanlon 64)
Goals: Tavares (16), Miller (58).
Booked: Miller (foul on Beck – twice), Bushiri (foul on Beck).
Sent off: Miller (two yellows).
Unused subs: Wollacott (gk), Harbottle, Molotnikov, Whittaker, Landers.
Referee: Don Robertson. Assistants: Chris Rae, Ross Nelson. Fourth Official: Chris Fordyce. VAR: Alan Muir. Assistant VAR: Frank Connor.
Attendance: 6,652.
Report: James Christie.
