The Dark Blues had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the friendly against Montrose at Links Park tonight. Alex Jakubiak put the Dee ahead in the first half only for Craig Johnston to equalise midway through the second half.
Dundee played with two strikers, Zak Rudden and Alex Jakubiak, and fielded a trialist in central midfield for the first half.
From the start the Dee were playing some neat football with quick interchanges coming forward. The two strikers combined well and linked effectively with the wide players.
A sweet move down the right ended with Paul McMullan sending Jakubiak into the penalty area and keeper Ross Matthews needed quick reactions to tip the ferocious shot over the bar.
Montrose had less of the ball but used it well when they attacked, passing and moving quickly, forcing the Dundee defenders to stay alert. Harry Sharp did well to hold a low 20 yarder from Paul Watson under pressure.
Rudden and Jakubiak opened up the home defence with a clever move down the right wing but Niall McGinn couldn’t make a clean connection with his shot to finish the chance.
Montrose continued to threaten when they managed to attack, finding space well but the Dee defence always managed to close the door before the Gables Endies could get a dangerous shot in.
As Dundee continued to threaten in attack Matthews again saved well to keep out Josh Mulligan’s shot after a delightful pass by Jordan Marshall gave McGinn space to cross.
The Dark Blues opened the scoring after 29 minutes from a corner. Ryan Sweeney headed down for Cammy Kerr to volley for goal with JAKUBIAK getting the decisive final touch from close range.
Mulligan almost scored a memorable goal late in the half when he beat three men in a skillful run into the penalty area, but Matthews again saved well.
The Dark Blues made five substitutions at half time, replacing the four men in midfield and sending on Ian Lawlor in goal. A trialist came on to play in left midfield. Montrose made three changes.
The quality of the game deteriorated and neither side were able to maintain the standard of the first half. Countless passes went astray in a poor second 45 minutes.
Jakubiak went close for the Dee when he burst through the middle, but Matthews pulled off another good save.
The equaliser after 63 minutes was a poor goal from the Dee’s point of view. Ryan Sweeney will be disappointed that he failed to deal with a long, high ball down the middle. He allowed Craig Johnston to run clear and the substitute finished well with a fierce, angled shot.
Dundee immediately sent on six substitutes to replace the remaining players who started the match and the Dee played the last 26 minutes with a very youthful side.
The Dark Blues did most of the attacking, but struggled to create good chances. Luke McCowan saw a rising 25 yard shot fly narrowly wide, and in the final minute Lyall Cameron headed against the crossbar from a corner.
Apart from that the latter stages were forgettable as neither side could keep possession or trouble the defences.
Almost all of the good football and entertainment came before half time tonight with the second half being disappointingly messy and disjointed. The team that takes the field in the first competitive match on Saturday will be very different from the young side that finished tonight’s match, but the youngsters in defence deserve credit for keeping a clean sheet when they were called into action.
This might have been a scrappy match but Montrose are a very good League One side and tonight they gave the Dee a hard game and a good work out.
Montrose FC 4-2-3-1
Matthews (Middleton 82)
Webster, Quinn, Waddell (Giacomini 70), Callaghan
Milne (Alexander 70), Watson (Masson at half time)
Brown, Whatley, Lyons (Steeves at half time)
Rennie (Johnston at half time)
Unused subs: none.
Goal: Johnston (63).
Booked: none.
Dundee FC (first half) 4-4-2
Sharp
Mulligan, Kerr, Sweeney (c), Marshall
McMullan, Trialist 14, Byrne, McGinn
Rudden, Jakubiak
Dundee FC (second half)
Lawlor
Mulligan (Trialist-Devine 64), Kerr (Fisher 64), Sweeney (c) (Graham 64), Marshall (Wilkie 64)
McCowan, Robertson, McGowan, Trialist 11
Rudden (Cameron 64), Jakubiak (Strachan 64)
Unused subs: Lamb.
Goal: Jakubiak (29).
Booked: none.
Attendance: 808.
Referee: Mike Roncone. Assistants: Gordon Crawford, Gordon McCabe.
Report: James Christie.
