Dundee snatched a late winner through David Clarkson – his eighth goal in eight consecutive games – in an exciting cup tie with Aberdeen at Dens Park which saw the home side with their backs pressed firmly against the wall for much of the afternoon.
We have a cup tie
On paper both teams started with very similar line-ups. Aberdeen, missing both Willo Flood and Barry Robson, appeared to be lining up with a very attacking 4-2-3-1, while there was no Paul McGowan for Dundee but they to went 4-2-3-1. Both teams stationed a striker, Stewart for Dundee and Rooney for Aberdeen, in a wide position.
The start to the game was excellent and Aberdeen were the first to put pressure on by using Rooney’s aerial ability in wide areas. He rose above Gary Irvine to knock the ball to David Goodwillie before taking a return pass and narrowly missing Niall McGinn who was sliding towards the ball in the six-yard box.
As for Dundee they were keen to use Martin Boyle’s pace when they broke forward. He was able to utilise it to put Aberdeen on the back foot before Mark Reynolds unnecessarily went through the back of the player when he had his back to goal and little room to turn and try and beat the Dons speed merchant in a foot race.
It would prove costly as inventiveness from Dundee saw Gary Harkins quickly zip the free-kick into the box as Aberdeen were still organising themselves. Rooney fell over while Ash Taylor was unable to stop Konrad squeezing a header under Scott Brown.
Rather than press their advantage Dundee immediately regressed into a reactive 4-4-1-1 shape with Greg Stewart and Boyle dropping in line with central midfielders Jim McAlister and Kevin Thomson, leaving Harkins as a link between midfield and Clarkson, who would become increasingly isolated as the game developed.
Aberdeen soon dominate
With Dundee deeper Aberdeen were soon able to squeeze the game and push both full-backs higher up the pitch to the point where they became wing-backs, more focused on their attacking duties. Their proactive approach was shown when Rooney went close after Reynolds nicked the ball on the half way line, setting up a sweeping move. Moments later he won the ball easily off Clarkson on the half way line before distributing it to Hayes who, along with McGinn, streamed forward with the latter being slid in to help the Dons grab the equaliser through an own goal from Konrad.
Dundee complained to Steven McLean that there was a foul on Clarkson by Reynolds but the in-form striker seemed to flop to the floor from the slightest contact.
For the rest of the half Dundee were pinned in their half. To emphasise the pressure they were under there was a moment where the ball was cleared and in the corner of the TV screen you could see Clarkson on the half way line, with no team mate near him, gesturing for the team to push up. With little space Harkins’s role diminished as he was squeezed out of the game.
Since so many Dundee players were camped in their own half Aberdeen had to move them around to create space. They were aided by the surges of Considine and Logan, allowing Aberdeen’s creative players to work infield, while Rooney and Goodwillie were able to play closer together. Some of the movement offered by the Dons was superb with Hayes and McGinn in particular dovetailing well.
Initially thought of as a 4-2-3-1 with Hayes wide left and McGinn though the centre, they soon morphed into a fluid 4-3-3 with Hayes finding himself wide left, central and covering for Consideine at left-back. He was constantly able to move deeper to pick up the ball and initiate attacks. As he moved forward he would double up with Considine down the left, pushing McGinn infield where he is more of a danger.
There was a certain anarchy to Aberdeen with Ryan Jack, a controlling influence in the middle distributing the ball efficiently, while marauding forward on occasions. However for all their neat play they were unable to penetrate Dundee’s defence. The closest they came was breaking forward with Pawlett who found Hayes peeling out left. The former ICT man’s cross found Goodwillie who set up Rooney for a header but it was repelled by Scott Bain.
Quiet second half . . . until the end
After a frantic first half the second half slowed down with Dundee growing more content with the draw as the game progressed. Derek McInnes brought on Cammy Smith for Pawlett – the 19-year-old looking to find space in front of the Dundee defence, doing so once where he was fouled and Hayes went close with the resulting free-kick.
From open play it was again down to superb individual play by Hayes and fine movement around the box which created Aberdeen’s best chances for a winner with both Rooney and Goodwillie hitting the side netting.
But as the game neared full-time Dundee grabbed the unlikely winner thanks to brave attacking play of James McPake. Yes. James McPake. Him. James McPake.
Intercepting the ball on half way, he carried his run as the ball fell to Irvine via McAlister. For the whole game Taylor and Reynolds simply had to deal with one man, David Clarkson. But with a new threat they were caught out. Clarkson won the first header from Irvine’s launch forward. Normally Taylor would sweep it up but he, for some reason, decided to let McPake have a free header, backing off. Clarkson ran on and fired past Brown. All Taylor had to do was get close to McPake and challenge for the header, putting pressure on the centre back who would have found it more difficult to nudge the ball into Clarkson’s path.
Amazingly Aberdeen could still have equalised. Another long ball was not dealt with, this time by Dundee allowing McGinn to run on and smash the ball towards the top corner only for Bain to make a terrific finger tip stop onto the bar. Clearly running on fumes having been an apparent doubt prior to the game, Stewart was unable to keep up with McGinn.
Backs to the wall for the majority of the game, Dundee showed their defensive resolve against an attacking and versatile Aberdeen side. With a marksman as lethal as Clarkson at the moment it always gave them a chance of snatching a win that did not look coming.
WRITTEN BY JOEL SKED
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