Dundee won the first derby of the season with a 2-0 victory at Tannadice, moving level with leaders Celtic at the top of the Premiership. Goals in either half from Drey Wright and a first Dundee effort from Owen Bevan sank toothless Dundee United in the only top-flight game of the weekend.
The win took Dundee level with Celtic, who remain ahead on goal difference. It was the perfect response after their Premier Sports Cup exit at Aberdeen. It was another win for Steven Pressley at Tannadice, having won the January fixture there last season. Dundee had suffered the blow of losing captain Simon Murray to an ACL injury against Aberdeen.
United's slow start continues
The defeat was a bad one for Jim Goodwin and United, who have just one point from their opening three league games. United also lost to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup, and the manner of this defeat will be the real frustration for those of a tangerine persuasion. They were second best, and Dundee will quite deservedly have the bragging rights.
United had lost their last two games 4-0. While those losses might not have been a true reflection of their play, it was enough for Goodwin to make six changes. The biggest surprise was Will Ferry starting, after Goodwin had claimed before the game that scans had shown up a groin problem and he would miss the match. Dylan Tait came back from suspension, while Pan Camara, Abdoulaye Yoro, Mehdi Merghem and Idjessio Metsoko also came in. Dundee made one enforced change, with Alan Forrest replacing Murray, while new strikers Bobby Wales and Bradley Fink were on the bench.
Goodman keeps United at bay
Pressley said when he signed Owen Goodman from Crystal Palace that he was capable of game-changing saves. It came just before the half-hour when Merghem curled in a deep corner and Vicko Sevelj looped a header towards goal, but Goodman managed to get an outstretched hand out to tip it away. United continued to push, with Jesse Randall cutting inside and curling a shot just wide, while Merghem played a one-two with Tait and put in a cross for Metsoko, but Ryan Astley made a brilliant saving block.
Dundee had not offered much going forward in the first period. The loss of Murray and the changes meant they lacked the same fluidity. Charlie Reilly fired just over and had another shot blocked amidst half-hearted penalty claims, while Joe Westley pulled a shot wide. The moment of the first period came two minutes before the break, when Yoro, making his first start, broke forward and tried to play the ball out to Randall but gifted it straight to Wright. The Ivory Coast youngster stopped and did not even try to get back. Wright charged forward from his own half and from just over 25 yards arrowed a right-foot shot past the right hand of Jack Walton. The Dundee fans went wild and led to chants of “Pressley, Pressleyball”.
Yoro was booked for a foul on Ryan Finnigan, but referee David Dickinson was sent to the screen and was forced to wipe that and hand the card to the Dundee player after intervention from VAR.
Bevan the unlikely hero
The Dundee keeper started the second half the way he finished the first. Tait put a ball in to Yoro, who produced a good spin and turn to fire in a shot that Goodman managed to turn past with his leg. It was a fine stop. The big keeper was then hit by a missile from behind the goal as he went to retrieve the ball. Luckily, he was not too seriously injured, but Dickinson picked it up and took it to the sideline. It was a needless incident in an already volatile atmosphere.
Joe Bevan had been Dundee’s main man in recent weeks, yet it was his namesake Owen who provided the cutting edge for the second. Fin Robertson’s deep corner was headed goalwards by Astley, but Walton saved it and the ball was half-cleared. It fell to Forrest, who fired in a low shot, and Bevan managed to divert it past Walton in the 57th minute. It was his first senior goal in three years. His last was when he was out on loan at Yeovil Town, coming against Solihull Moors. It was a big moment for him after all his recent injuries.
Dundee skipper Ethan Hamilton could have made it three, but Bert Esselink cleared off the line. Goodwin made changes, but Dundee always looked in control. United had a couple of chances, but Rose could not get on the end of Zach Sapsford’s ball and then hooked another wide. The match finished with the delighted Dundee fans singing “There’s only one team in Dundee”. They were spot on with this performance.
