So that is me back after the international break. It would have been nice to start off by fawning over the Scotland team about how we beat Georgia and got a point against Germany. Instead it was ‘twa pumping’s’ and now we are in danger of not even making the play offs. The less said the better.
Now on to the match on Saturday against Partick Thistle. Prior to the game I decided to have a little look at the history books to see if I could dig up any statistics and I came across one that is very impressive.
Since the formation of the SPL in 1998 and the SPFL in 2014, Dundee have NEVER been beaten by Thistle in the top league. We have played them ten times with our record being won seven and drawn three. When I posted this on Facebook and Twitter a few of the posters called me a ‘jinx’ and ‘that’s us gubbed now’ and for a while into the match I actually thought I had jinxed it.
Partick started the stronger and looked the most threatening out of the two teams. We struggled to grab a hold of the game while Thistle rattled the crossbar from six yards out. They again came close with a thunderous shot that cannoned off the post. Dundee gradually got themselves into the game when they came close in the last few minutes of the half, Nick Ross shot wide from close range when he should of really have given us the lead. Soon after Gary Irvine nearly found himself one on one with the keeper until the Thistle defender put in a last ditch tackle.
We seemed more composed in the second half but Thistle still managed to hit the bar again when a header from Ryan Stevenson should really have hit the back of the net.
The introduction of Villa loanee Ricardo Calder injected some pace on the wing and Rory Loy made his long awaited comeback to the team by replacing Gary Harkins. These two players changed the game for Dundee, especially with Loy returning to link back up with Stewart and Hemmings up front making the Dees look more menacing. It also saw a return to the 4-3-3 formation which is the one I am more in favour of seeing this season.
We eventually broke the deadlock when Greg Stewart received the ball on the halfway line and proceeded to run directly at the Thistle goal, jink past two defenders and slotting home a curling left foot shoot into the bottom corner. The press are now labelling this a Greg Stewart trademark goal!
Stewart should have had the points all but wrapped up not long after when he just beat the offside trap and with only the keeper to beat he shot right at the keeper. Even though the ball was slowly trickling towards the goal, Loy nipped in as the defender was about to clear to put it in the back of the net but he was unfortunately called offside when Stewart took the shot.
As the final whistle went it was a massive relief that we had managed to come away with all three points. We did manage to come back into the game but before we did we let Partick play and the fact they hit the woodwork three times shows you how close they were to claiming a win. The old saying sprang to mind, ‘if you don’t take your chances’, which we did.
It was good to see us come away with the points and also a clean sheet. We only managed to keep seven all last term and after this result, that was our second of the season. Hopefully this is just the type of result we needed. A mixed performance but we still showed enough quality to get the win.
Another point worth mentioning is the players we had on the bench. For a few weeks prior to the international break the lack of attacking players we could bring on was worrying if we were chasing the game. On Saturday we had Ricardo Calder, Rory Loy, Rhys Healey and also Kevin Holt who despite being a defender, still offers attacking options down the left flank. It is good to know there is a ‘Plan B’ if ‘Plan A’ is not working.
So I never jinxed our impressive record against Thistle and now we stand at played eleven, won eight and drawn three. I am not sure but if we beat them again, I heard we will be allowed to keep them!
We visit Parkhead to take on champions Celtic this weekend and if truth be told, it is a fixture that we should be going all out attack on. We have the players to cause them problems and with their defence being their weakest point, we can go and grab a few goals against them. They also have Ajax midweek in the Europa League and if they come away defeated, that along with the loss to Aberdeen could cause their moral to plummet.
MON THE DEE!
