Dundee were beaten 1-0 by Motherwell in Lanarkshire this afternoon. A late goal by Callum Slattery gave Well all three points. The Dark Blues matched the Steelmen in a forgettable first half and stood up strongly to Motherwell’s attacking after half time, but slipped up to concede that late goal. Motherwell held off the Dee’s fightback in the last few minutes to take the win they deserved on the basis of the second half.
There were four changes to the Dee’s starting eleven. Ash Hay replaced Simon Murray, who was named as a substitute. Fin Robertson and Callum Jones came into central midfield, replacing Ethan Hamilton, who was unavailable for family reasons, and Paul Digby, who was on the bench. Ryan Astley was still sidelined by the concussion protocol and Imari Samuels kept his place at left back after coming on as a substitute for him last week.
To be polite the first half was low key. The Dark Blues’ best spell coming forward was in the opening 20 minutes. After that the passes were going astray. Perhaps Dundee were short of confidence. They were certainly lacking composure.
Motherwell were not any more careful in possession. They tried to build attackes with patient passes, but were hampered by persistently careless passing. In that long first half only borderline refereeing decisions got the crowd excited.
The closest to a goal came after 11 minutes when Callum Hendry was given too much space as he ran into the penalty area. Jon McCracken saved well with his feet.
Dundee’s best effort was a powerful 20 yarder from Callum Jones which was shovelled round the post by Callum Ward. For Motherell Callum Slattery hit a similar shot from 25 yards straight at McCracken.
Dundee made a change at half time. Fin Robertson was limping at the end of the half and he was replaced by Paul Digby. The newcomer made his presence felt in only 20 seconds when he was booked for a foul on Slattery.
After that slipshod first half it was no surprise that Motherwell stepped up the pace and attacked with more purpose after the restart. It took a while for them to click into gear but gradually the threat to the Dee goal increased.
The ambitious passes which were not coming off in the first half started to find their man. The clever moves that looked too elaborate in the first half were paying off. The Dark Blues stood up strongly to the dangerous attacking but the chances began to appear.
Substitute Ibrahim Said ran to the byline and pulled a low ball across goal for Elliot Watt who shot too high from only six yards. Hendry then missed a simple chance when he sent a close range header straight at McCracken.
Dundee sent Charlie Reilly on for Tony Yogane and then Simon Murray replaced Ash Hay. The game opened up for a spell in the middle of the half as Dundee seemed to scent that they might sneak a win. Reilly had a shot blocked for a corner.
However, it was inevitable that Motherwell would throw everything at the Dee in the closing stages. That was when they scored the only goal at the end of a spell of fierce pressure.
Watt’s cross from the left allowed SLATTERY to guide a header from 12 yards inside McCracken’s near post. The late onslaught was predictable, but there was nothing inevitable about the goal. Dundee had defended well but they slipped up allowing Slattery a free run onto the header.
The Dark Blues tried their hardest to save the game and pinned Motherwell back in their penalty area for most of the remaining 10 minutes of play. Ward saved Reilly’s shot from 18 yards. Drey Wright and Cam Congreve worked a neat move to send Congreve clear into the penalty area on the right, but Ward beat away the low cross.
The late Dee charge was in vain and Motherwell held out for the win. The first half might have been a mess, but they were the better side in the second half. Dundee held up well against Motherwell’s dangerous attacking for long spells in the second half, but they couldn’t find the quality to hurt Well when they had the ball. It took just one moment of slackness for Motherwell to score the winner, but if anyone deserved to win today it was the home side.
Motherwell 4-2-3-1
Ward
Koutroumbis (Sparrow 58), McGinn (c), Welsh, Longelo (O’Donnell 86)
Fadinger, Watt
Charles-Cook (Said 58), Just, Slattery (Priestman 86)
Hendry (Stamatelopoulos 72)
Unused subs: Connelly (gk), Osong, Ross, Thomson.
Goal: Slattery (82).
Booked: Slattery (foul on Robertson).
Dundee 4-2-3-1
Jon McCracken
Drey Wright, Billy Koumetio, Luke Graham, Imari Samuels
Callum Jones (Emile Acquah 83), Fin Robertson (c) (Paul Digby at half time)
Cameron Congreve, Yan Dhanda, Tony Yogane (Charlie Reilly 68)
Ash Hay (Simon Murray 77)
Unused substitutes: Kieran O’Hara (gk), Ethan Ingram, Aaron Donnelly, Plamen Galabov, Ethan Crombie.
Booked: Digby (foul on Just), Dhanda (time-wasting).
Attendance: 6,659 (463 Dees).
Referee: Matthew MacDermid. Assistants: Douglas Ross, Colin Drummond. VAR: Kevin Clancy. Assistant VAR: Graeme Leslie.
Report: James Christie.
