Yan Dhanda’s penalty at the end of the first half gave the Dark Blues a priceless 1-0 win over Falkirk at Dens Park this afternoon. In a game that featured more graft than artistry Dundee defended superbly and restricted Falkirk to optimistic shots from distance and crosses that never opened up the Dark Blues. Simon Murray came on as a substitute only to be red carded near the end of normal time. That didn’t help the Bairns who were held at bay by an impressive Dee defence.
There were two changes to the Dee team. Ethan Hamilton and Ryan Astley returned to the starting eleven in the place of Paul Digby, who was on the bench, and the injured Fin Robertson.
The Dark Blues kicked off and started positively winning a free kick after 20 seconds when Drey Wright combined neatly with Tony Yogane before being felled.
Yogane was a constant threat on the left in the first half. The young winger swept past Bairns’ right back Keelan Adams three times in the first 15 minutes.
The first half was evenly balanced throughout. The Dee had an edge early on, but Falkirk picked up in the middle of the half. Both teams showed some nice touches in their approach play but the final balls never found men in the penalty area to set up worthwhile chances.
Midway through the first half Cameron Congreve skillfully made space to shoot from 18 yards but Scott Bain saved. It was the only time in the match that the Falkirk keeper was forced to make a save that was anything more than simple. Meanwhile the Bairns didn’t record a shot on target till the dying minutes.
A minute after Congreve’s effort it looked like Falkirk would be reduced to 10 men when Brad Spencer was shown a red card for a challenge on Ash Hay. After a delay while Hay received treatment referee Duncan Nicolson was sent to the VAR screen to review the decision. That resulted in the red card being downgraded to a yellow.
Dundee were defending well, particularly at set pieces, but there were occasional moments of carelessness. Jon McCracken, in particular, was guilty of being casual or making poor decisions a few times. He got lucky when he charged from his goal to challenge Kyrell Wilson but didn’t connect cleanly and the ball bounced towards the wing. Wilson retrieved it but, with McCracken well out of position, his cross found Billy Koumetio who had raced back to cover.
In first half injury time Yan Dhanda tried a shot from the edge of the penalty area. It was on target but blocked suspiciously by Finn Yeats. It was no surprise that a VAR review was announced when the ball next went dead, which was when the referee blew for half time. The review established that the block was handball and Yam DHANDA scored with an impeccable penalty which sent Bain the wrong way.
Dundee went close at the start of the second half. Yogane showed some impressive ball control as he combined with Wright whose cross evaded the Dark Blue attackers and drifted just the wrong side of the far post.
From then on the game went downhill as a spectacle. It was a poor watch for a neutral, but nerves were too taut for the watching Dees to feel bored. It was a scrappy, messy game, with little fluency, but that suited Dundee. The Dark Blues were well organised, hard working, and tight in defence.
Falkirk huffed and puffed but never managed to blow the Dark Blue defence down. McCracken might have had shaky moments in the first half, but his handling of crossed was flawless throughout, and Falkirk couldn’t deliver balls that hurt Dundee. McCracken claimed everything that was his, and the central defenders were excellent as they dealt with the rest.
Just after the hour mark Dundee made two substitutions and changed shape. Simon Murray and Imari Samuels came on for Congreve and Yogane. The Dee now lined up as 5-3-2, with Wright switching to right wing back, Ryan Astley to right centre back, and Samuels taking the left wing back slot.
The Bairns continued to rack up impressive possession stats, but that is meaningless when there is no end product. All their shots were well wide, too high, or blocked a long way from goal.
The nearest to a goal came at the other end. The Falkirk defence couldn’t clear a high cross from Samuels, and Wright drilled a low shot inches wide from 12 yards.
In the 87th minute Dundee were down to 10 men. Simon Murray lunged at the back of Ethan Ross’s legs to stop him breaking from his own half. There couldn’t have been anyone in the ground who was surprised when Mr Nicolson pulled out his red card.
Falkirk finally managed a shot on target in the final minute of normal time. Filip Lissah’s effort from the 18 yard line flew through a crowd of players but straight at McCracken, who held it comfortably.
The announcement that there would be eight minutes of added time was met with astonishment by the home support. Dundee made two more substitutions to send on fresh legs in the form of Paul Digby and Emile Acquah in the place of Callum Jones and Ash Hay.
Happily the added time was an untidy mess. Falkirk couldn’t do anything to disturb the fierce concentration and total effectiveness of the Dark Blue defenders who didn’t put a foot wrong in that long second half.
Objectively this was a poor game, but three points and a clean sheet are an excellent outcome for a club in Dundee’s position.
The determination to keep Falkirk at bay and stop them scoring, or even making chances, was impressive and reassuring. More of this will be required in the months ahead.
It was disappointing that Dundee didn’t create more chances, but the movement and passing through the midfield was noticeably better than earlier in the season. Yan Dhanda had his best game for Dundee. He worked hard in the middle, found space to play, and hit clever, ambitious passes. We need to see that consistently from the midfield, and better final balls into the penalty area would help.
The bottom line today, however, is that Dundee needed to win, and they showed the character and effort to deliver that. Well done guys!
Dundee 4-2-3-1
Jon McCracken
Ryan Astley, Billy Koumetio, Luke Graham, Drey Wright
Callum Jones (Paul Digby 90+1), Ethan Hamilton (c)
Cameron Congreve (Simon Murray 61), Yan Dhanda, Tony Yogane (Imari Samuels 61)
Ash Hay (Emile Acquah 90+1)
Unused substitutes: Kieran O’Hara (gk), Ethan Ingram, Aaron Donnelly, Charlie Reilly, Plamen Galabov.
Goal: Dhanda (pen 45+5)
Booked: Congreve (foul in Lissah), Dhanda (kicking ball away), Wright (kicking ball away).
Sent off: Murray (foul on Ross).
Falkirk 4-2-3-1
Bain
Adams, Allan, Henderson, Lissah
Spencer (c) (Nesbitt 82), Yeats (Tait 66)
Wilson (Agyeman 66), Miller, Williams (Ross 66)
Graham (Samuel-Ogunsoyi 77)
Unused subs: Hogarth (gk), McCann, Cartwright, Edwards.
Booked: Spencer (foul on Hay), Miller (foul on Graham).
Attendance: 6,798.
Referee: Duncan Nicolson. Assistants: David McGeachie, Jonathan Bell. VAR: Ryan Lee. Assistant VAR: Chris Graham.
Report: James Christie.
