Dundee were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by St Mirren in agonising fashion following a penalty shoot-out in Paisley this afternoon. After the match finished 0-0 Buddies goalkeeper Trevor Carson saved the first three Dee penalties to take his side into the fifth round. The Dark Blues more than matched their Premiership opponents throughout, and coped admirably with the loss of Tyler French and Cammy Kerr to injury in the first half.
Dundee started with a 4-3-3 formation. The defence was familiar, but the midfield three was more of a surprise, consisting of Jordan McGhee, Tyler French and Josh Mulligan. Alex Jakubiak led the line up front, with Paul McMullan and Luke McCowan on either side.
The first 20 minutes were memorable only for a bad injury to Tyler French after six minutes. He was treated on the pitch for a further six minutes before he was carried off on a stretcher. Max Anderson was a straight replacement.
St Mirren mustered the first two shots on target, a free kick by Scott Tanser and an optimistic 25 yard effort from Mark O’Hara. Both were dealt with easily by Adam Legzdins.
For the most part St Mirren were wasteful in possession, hitting too many wayward long balls that caused the Dee no problems.
Dundee grew into the game, dominating possession, but without opening up St Mirren’s defence. The first glimpse of a chance came after 35 minutes when Alex Jakubiak hit a lovely pass over the top for Anderson. Tanser got back to block the shot at the expense of a corner from which Lee Ashcroft headed wide.
Late in the half Dundee lost Cammy Kerr to injury. Lyall Cameron came on to play in midfield with Josh Mulligan shifting to right back.
Cameron almost scored a quick opener with a clever volley from Jordan Marshall’s cross, but Trevor Carson pulled off a great low save.
After a poor first half showing St Mirren made two changes at half time, replacing Declan Gallagher and Jonah Ayunga with Ethan Erhahon and Alex Grieve.
The Buddies improved at first but without creating any more danger than in the first half. Grieve did manage to net, but O’Hara was flagged offside in the build up. Dundee came back well, with some promising attacking build ups. Frustratingly the good approach play always fell apart when the Dark Blues reached the penalty area.
Midway through the half Dundee brought on Cillian Sheridan and Kwame Thomas for Alex Jakubiak. The arrival of two big strikers suggested the Dee were going to go long, but their best moments came from moves along the ground, particularly on the right.
Dundee’s best moment in the second half came when Cameron took Mulligan’s cross and spun to shoot. But he scuffed the shot and Carson saved comfortably.
The Dark Blues were defending superbly and a Dee defender was almost always first to every ball into the penalty area. Only in the last few minutes of regulation time did St Mirren set up a couple of fleeting half chances. Curtis Main headed wide from a scrum of players at a free kick, and O’Hara’s 12 yard shot into a crowded goalmouth was blocked.
It was no surprise when such a tight match went to extra time. Before the restart Zak Rudden came on for Luke McCowan.
Dundee had an early scare in a goalmouth scramble following a corner. Legzdins saved from Alex Gogic, couldn’t hold the ball, and Gogic forced the loose ball against the outside of the post.
The match did open up in extra time, but neither side could find the composure or control in the final third to give the defences many worrying moments. The only ghost of a chance came when Thomas flicked on Cameron’s free kick, but Carson saved.
Penalties looked almost inevitable long before the final whistle. When the showdown did arrive it was a disappointing anti-climax.
St Mirren went first and Eamonn Brophy’s weak effort was saved by Legzdins. Dundee’s first three penalties were all better efforts, from Rudden, Thomas and Cameron, but Carson pulled off three great saves. O’Hara, Grieve and Kiltie converted – and that was the end of Dundee’s Scottish Cup campaign.
The Dark Blues can head home with their heads held high after this performance. They were the better side in regulation time, and held out fairly comfortably when St Mirren did put them under pressure in extra time.
The defence was superb, and they were ably supported by a midfield that made it difficult for the Buddies to launch controlled attacks.
The midfielders did particularly well considering that only one of the three starters, Jordan McGhee, was still there at half time. Tyler French was lost to injury, and Josh Mulligan had to move to right back. Max Anderson and Lyall Cameron proved to be very able replacements. In the end the Dee fell short because they couldn’t find a cutting edge – in open play and in the shoot-out.
St Mirren 3-5-2
Carson
Fraser, Gallagher (Erhahon at half time), Dunne
Strain (Shaughnessy 105), Baccus (Kiltie 57), O’Hara (c), Gogic, Tanser (Flynn 98)
Ayunga (Grieve at half time), Main (Brophy 82)
Unused subs: Urminsky (gk), Richard Taylor, Offord.
Booked: Gallagher (foul on Jakubiak), O’Hara (foul on Anderson), Gogic (foul on Thomas).
Dundee FC 4-3-3
Legzdins
Kerr (Cameron 41), Ashcroft, Sweeney (c), Marshall
McGhee (Robertson 94), French (Anderson 12), Mulligan
McMullan (Sheridan 65), Jakubiak (Thomas 65), McCowan (Rudden at start of extra time)
Unused subs: Sharp (gk).
Booked: Thomas (foul on Erhahon).
Referee: Colin Steven. Assistants: Gordon Crawford, David Doig.
Attendance: 4,254 (882 Dees).
Report: James Christie.
