Dundee put themselves back in contention in their Under 19s League Cup section by defeating East Fife at Cupar Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
The young Dees had won one, lost one and drawn one of their three games so far, so this result was vital in their bid to qualify from the section and they got off to a great start when John Black took advantage of poor defending and pounced to net in the third minute.
East Fife dominated possession for much of the early period and Jack Neave and his fellow defenders had to be on their toes to deprive the Fifers of any real goalscoring opportunities.
The home team were caught out again on 25 minutes when more defensive slackness allowed Josh Skelly to turn and fire past keeper Dylan Rooney.
Three minutes later Dundee almost increased their lead when John Black got his head to a Sean Gallacher free kick only to see it turned round the post for a corner.
But it did become three five minutes before half time when Skelly’s free kick was only parried into the path of Cammy Black who made no mistake from close range.
It could have got worse for the home side with John Black firing narrowly past the post.
HT: East Fife 0 Dundee 3
East Fife came out fired up after the break but it was still Dundee who were creating the better chances. Skelly had a free kick well saved by the keeper and Max Avolio spurned a good chance when he raced on to a through ball from Liam Gibb.
The Dens Parkers suffered a blow when Skelly, who was a thorn in the Methil men’s side, had to come off to be replaced by Robbie Casey, with Alex Gibb moving to centre forward.
A rare moment of concern in the Dundee defence was eased when Greg Warwick cleared off the line in an East Fife attack, but the home side eventually breached the Dark Blues defence 12 minutes from time.
Casey clashed with Ritchie Hutton and the ref awarded a penalty which Konnor Lyndsay fired past John Bonnar.
Any hopes of a fightback were extinguished a minute later, however, when Max Avolio raced on to a through ball from Alex Gibb and gave the Fife keeper no chance.
Immediately after that coach Gavin Burns brought on Ryan Hunter for the impressive Alex Gibb.
Five minutes from the end Greig Urquhart’s 25-yard free kick deceived Bonnar and ended up in the net off the underside of the crossbar.
FT: East Fife 2 Dundee 4
Dundee; John Bonnar, Greg Warwick, Liam Gibb, Cammy Black, Jack Neave, Sean Gallacher, Max Avolio, John Black, Josh Skelly (Robbie Casey 58), Calum McHardy, Alex Gibb (Ryan Hunter 85). Sub not used: Ross Cunningham.
Report: Jim Davie
