When 16 year old Craig Wighton headed home Ryan Conroy’s cross in this weekend’s win over Raith Rovers it was a moment that all but sealed three points for The Dark Blue but it appears that the goal had a much greater historical significance.
We’ve searched through the record books and had discussions with club historians and all the evidence suggests that Craig is the youngest player to score a competitive goal for the first team in the 120 year history of the club.
The striker was 16 years 3 months and 13 days old when he hit the net against Raith.
He’s in good company as a 16 year old to find the net for the Dundee first team. Most recently, Iain Anderson became the youngest ever goal scorer by any player in the Scottish Football League Premier Division when he fired home a penalty against Hibernian on the final day of the 1993-94 season at 16 years 9 months and 14 days.
The youngest player to play for the Dark Blues was of course Andy Penman who made his debut in February 1959 against Hearts thirteen days short of his sixteenth birthday, a record which Craig was denied the chance to beat last season by SPL rules which ruled out an under 16 playing in the top league. Andy didn’t find the net until New Years Day 1960 when he notched his first goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Aberdeen.
Jocky Scott was until this weekend considered the clubs youngest scorer. A club legend who went on to manage Dundee on two separate occasions scored the first and second of his 154 goals for the club when he was 16 years 7 months and 29 days old. Jocky’s first goals for the club came in a dream scenario. In front of 17,500 fans at Tannadice, Jocky netted twice in a 4-1 victory for Dundee over rivals United.
