Dundee boss Paul Hartley has expressed his pride in his players after they helped him finally overcome what he described as his “lowest ebb” in management.
That nadir was the New Year’s Day derby demolition, which United won 6-2.
However, it was Dundee who held the upper hand at Dens last night, taking the lead through Greg Stewart thanks to an absolute howler by Tangerines keeper Rado Cierzniak with United hitting straight back with a Nadir Ciftci penalty.
The Dark Blues took the lead again, though, courtesy of James McPake and then Paul Heffernan wrapped up all three points with his first goal for the club.
The Dundee players made their own piece of history as it was the Dark Blues’ first derby win since 2004.
Hartley said: “The players were outstanding, it was the perfect performance.
“I’m really proud of my players and we have now given ourselves a platform to get that top six spot.
“As players, they’ve had it rammed down their throats often enough that it’s 10 or 11 years since we last beat them. It’s been a long time since 2004 but the players were outstanding.
“Now we need to move on again.
“The feeling was terrible in January and it’s the lowest ebb that I’ve been as a manager. But this is a fantastic feeling, to get this scoreline and to get that monkey off our back was terrific.
“We will take a massive following to St Johnstone this weekend, I’m talking 3000 plus. Our fans will enjoy this but as a team we will recover and get ready for Saturday.”
A desperately disappointed United boss Jackie McNamara said: “The first goal was a bad individual mistake, similar to the second one.
“It seems to be the way it is going for us. We aren’t getting that bit of luck.”