Well that was some result for Dundee.
St Johnstone may be in free fall lately and I predicted before the game that we would take the three points but it was the manner in which we did it.
We attacked the Saints from the word go, passed the ball about well, won all the battles and for the first time this season, we played for the whole ninety minutes! Hell, we even went and kept a clean sheet bringing our tally four for this season. This was also our fifth match at home which we have gone undefeated.
The result saw us leapfrog St Johnstone into fifth place and joint fourth with Ross County who will occupy that position for this week because they are one goal better off. All in all it was a very good weekend for the Dee.
Every player busted a gut on Friday. Glorious Gary Harkins yet again showed that he is relishing his new role as captain of the team with another excellent performance that ended up with him drinking a Yazoo on the bench when he was substituted. One notable mention goes to Nick Ross. In my opinion he has not exactly made as big of an impact this season as we all expected but lately I think we have seen him turn the corner. His performance on Friday was his best but he has slowly been improving since the departure of Kevin Thomson. In fact, even though Thomson was a big player for us, I now feel we have more of a settled team and he was more of a hindrance and liability.
Kane Hemmings once again grabbed the headlines with his two goals. I will admit to thinking he was a bit off the pace when he first came to us but he has been utterly magnificent for us this season and he is definitely our signing of the year so far.
His opener was pure strikers instinct and his second was just brilliant. Harkins again was pulling on his game to dispense of Danny Swanson and his ball through the defence to Kane was a thing of beauty. The way he took his goal was a man who his playing at the top of his game. Many players would try to take on the man in the position he was in but instead he just let rip with his lethal left foot to leave the goalkeeper stranded and the net bulging.
This was his eighteenth of what is turning out to be an incredible season for him and there is more to come.
Next up we have two very big matches on the horizon. First up we have Kilmarnock in the league and then Dumbarton in our Scottish Cup replay.
The Kilmarnock game will be tough to call. They are a team that only play one of two ways, good or bad. There is no in between with them. They will also have a new manager in the form of Lee Clark so we will have to see if the new manager effect will play a part that most teams enjoy (unless your Dundee United). Alternatively, we could capitalise on the previous win and good feeling around the club and give another performance at Rugby Park that will be on par with our opening day win there.
One thing is for sure, the result for this game could well have a big impact on the top six and also the bottom two positions. A Kilmarnock win could see them moving two points behind sixth place to ease their relegation worries but a win for Dundee could see us cement a place in fourth place and continue our hopes of a successive top six finish.
A few days later we welcome Dumbarton to Dens Park where I expect the team to do their job and book our ticket into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.
You cannot take anything away from Dumbarton in the first game. They defended well and even though they rode their luck at some points, they got their replay and a few extra pounds in their coffers.
We do have a few fringe players waiting to get a game and some fans have been calling on the likes of Wighton and Kerr to be given a run-out. I would be cautious about throwing both of them on together for this match but I would be very tempted to give one of them a starting position.
We will of course know by now who our opponents are for this game as Kilmarnock take on Rangers on 16 February. I have no preference but I think Killie just sway it as I do enjoy a Killie peh!
Before I go, I just want to say that the new Speroni Testimonial DVD is absolutely brilliant and well worth the money. It certainly brings back a lot of memories about the build up to the game and of course was the main reason that you all have the joy of reading my ramblings most week!
MON THE DEE!
