Three games in seven days will test Dark Blues’ mettle

[News Bot]

Sunday’s game against St Johnstone marks the beginning of a huge week for Dundee.

Having had a spell of games which saw them face three of the top four teams, they are now gearing up for three games in seven days which could define their season.

I’ll look tonight at where I think they will gain points in these games.

ST JOHNSTONE (a) – Sunday, October 23

The Dark Blues start the run with a derby against their Tayside rivals.

This will be another tough game, made even more difficult by Saints losing at the weekend to Kilmarnock at home.

When the pair met at McDiarmid last season, things started very well for Dundee, with Kane Hemmings scoring in the third minute only to be pegged back 10 minutes later by a David Wotherspoon effort.

Saints haven’t scored many goals at home this season and have already lost two league games at their own place, so I think a point would be a good start to the week for Dundee at Perth.

Verdict: 1 point.

PARTICK THISTLE (h) – Wednesday, October 26

Following their trip to Perth, next up for Dundee is a home game against the Jags and it’s a game the Dark Blues should be looking to take all three points in.

The home record hasn’t been great so far this campaign but the team has looked a lot more solid defensively in recent weeks. This should give them a platform to build from and the Dee should also be looking to capitalise on Thistle’s poor away record.

They have only picked up one point on their travels and conceded six goals in their three away games so far.

If you add to that Dundee’s own record against Thistle in the two seasons since the Dens men returned to the Premiership then you would certainly go for a home victory.

The only downside is that Thistle may well come and sit in at Dens, making it difficult to break through. However, if Dundee are clinical in front of goal, the game is there to be won.

Verdict: 3 points.

HAMILTON (a) – Saturday, October 29

Dundee finish off a massive seven days with a trip to Hamilton for a game on plastic against an inconsistent Accies team. They currently sit third bottom and have dropped points from a winning position in too many games this season. This should give the Dens side hope of going down there and picking up valuable points.

However, you have to go back to the Championship-winning season to find the last time Dundee took all three points at New Douglas Park (now the SuperSeal Stadium) when Iain Davidson, Declan Gallagher and Peter MacDonald scored in a 3-0 victory.

This shows what a tough place it is to bag points. Dundee have played some very good football there in the past but returned with nothing to show for it.

In last season’s encounters, away from home, Dundee were left to rue a good opportunity to win when they lost the lead at a time when Hamilton were down to 10 men.

The other game ended in a 2-1 defeat with Gary Harkins getting on the scoresheet for the Dark Blues.

When all is said and done, a point may be a decent return from this one.

Verdict: 1 point.

Well, there you have it, five points from nine. However, it’s easy to predict outcomes on paper but much harder putting it into practice. The fact is there are no easy games in this division.

But I’m sure Paul Hartley would like to achieve maximum points and will be doing everything possible to take them in these fixtures.

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