The U20’s picked up their first point in five Development League fixtures courtesy of a 0-0 draw against Motherwell. The Dark Blues lined up in a 3-5-2 formation which saw Kerr Waddell, Matty Smyth and Matty Allan making up the back three with Kyle Clark and Conor Quigley deployed as wingbacks. Rory Loy started alongside Mark Smith up front.
Jesse Curran had the first chance of the game after 23 minutes. The midfielder got on the end of Conor Quigley’s cross, but his volley was wide of the mark.
The first half was a largely forgettable affair as both sides failed to create any clear-cut chances. Mark Smith managed to get in behind the Motherwell defence twice before the break, but failed to trouble goalkeeper Peter Morrison.
Dundee started the second half brightly. Calvin Colquhoun’s driven effort was well saved by Morrison 60 seconds after the restart.
Rory Loy was next to try his luck from the top of the box but Morrison was equal to the striker’s effort.
Motherwell created their best chance just after the hour mark. Tom Fry’s cross was met by Ross McLean, who saw his first-time effort well saved by Kyle Gourlay.
With eight minutes remaining, the visitors thought they had the lead. Adam Livingstone’s cross was turned into the net by Dylan Mackin, but the striker was ruled to be offside.
Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Dundee to take from this match. All the players adapted well to the 3-5-2 system, while the defence limited Motherwell to a handful of half chances. At the other end of the pitch the final pass was missing on more than one occasion, but this is still a valuable point given the poor run the team have been on.
Dundee (3-5-2): Gourlay, Waddell, Smyth, Allan, Clark, Curran, Colquhoun, Quigley, I. Smith, Loy, M. Smith (Berry 75)
Subs Unused: Ferrie, Anderson, Coupe
Booked: Curran
Motherwell (4-4-2): Morrison, Watt, Armstrong, Maguire, Kennedy, Campbell, McLean, Turnbull (Livingstone 66), Mackin, Hastie (Watters 78), Fry
Subs Unused: Pettigrew, Scott, Agyeman
Booked: Kennedy, Fry, Mackin, McLean
Report: Andrew Creegan
