Kilmarnock 0-1 Dundee: Dark Blues earn vital three points

[News Anchor]

Dundee made it two wins out of two under interim boss Neil McCann as they came away from Kilmarnock with a vital three points at Rugby Park.

A Marcus Haber header early on in the second half was enough for the Dark Blues as they moved themselves away from the Premiership drop zone.

McCann made two changes from his debut victory the previous week at Motherwell with Faissal El Bakhtaoui replacing Craig Wighton and Cammy Kerr came back from suspension to replace Nick Ross.

Early on, the home side were the first to try their luck as Sean Longstaff brought a decent save out of Scott Bain with a low effort from the edge of the box but it was the Dark Blues who started the brighter.

And they should have been ahead on 20 minutes as El Bakhtaoui picked out Mark O’Hara with a fine cross-field pass. O’Hara knocked it inside for the waiting Marcus Haber but, under pressure, he scuffed his shot and Freddie Woodman saved.

They went one better minutes later as Kevin Gomis flicked in a Kevin Holt free-kick only for the linesman’s flag to rule it out.

Then it was the other linesman’s turn to be the centre of attention as the match was stopped before a Kilmarnock corner as he was sick over an advertising hoarding. And to add insult to injury for the poorly official, referee Craig Thomson showed him a red card in jest to the amusement of the Rugby Park crowd. Sometimes you just can’t make up what happens in Scottish football.

After that bizarre stoppage, the Dark Blues continued to impress and should have taken the lead through Haber only for the Canadian to put a free header from eight yards wide of the post.

Tom Hateley tested Woodman again before the break from a free-kick from around 25 yards and despite a couple of late flurries before half-time, Dundee were frustrated to go in to the dressing-room level.

After the restart, Darren O’Dea had a shout for a penalty before Kilmarnock almost scored a freak opener as Bain smashed a clearance straight off Greg Kiltie’s head on the edge of the six-yard box and watched helplessly as the ball flew inches wide of his far post.

Dundee finally took the lead on 55 minutes. After good work from Paul McGowan on the left wing to dig out a cross, Haber made up for his earlier misses to power a header beyond Woodman.

Just moments later, Killie were very close to an instant reply as Gary Dicker nodded a Jordan Jones corner just wide.

On 62 minutes, O’Hara had the chance to score against his old club as Hateley’s cross found the midfielder free in the middle. Stretching, though, he headed a yard wide.

With 15 minutes to go, the home side were pressing for an equaliser and Longstaff tested Bain after a decent run with a low shot before the Dundee goalkeeper pulled off a fine save to deny Kiltie on 78 minutes.

Killie fans thought their chance had come on 85 minutes as Kris Boyd found himself room 12 yards out only to see his goalbound effort expertly kept out by Bain.

Dundee were content to hold on to what they had as the clock ran down and the defence held firm to secure what could be a massive three points in their bid for safety.

 

Dundee: Bain, Holt, Vincent, O’Dea, Hateley, O’Hara, McGowan (Ross 83), El Bakhtaoui (Wighton 76), Haber (Ojamaa 90), Kerr, Gomis.

Kilmarnock: Woodman, Ajer, Jones (Roberts 76), Hendrie, Dicker, Smith, Longstaff, Sammon, Taylor, Boyd, Wilson (Kiltie 46).

Attendance: 4,040

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