The momentum Dundee should have carried home from the Tannadice derby was posted missing as they lost to Inverness Caley Thistle.
Following on from their 1-1 draw against Championship leaders Dundee United – many at the club felt they should have won – the expectation was that they would start here at Dens where they left off up the road.
However, the Dark Blues were terrible in the first half at Dens then merely OK after the break without seriously threatening to turn the match in their favour.
The result left them down in fourth spot in the table, 20 points behind United, six adrift of Inverness and two worse off than Ayr United.
The visitors ran the show up to the interval and should have scored more than the two goals they did get though Aaron Doran on 17 minutes and James Keatings on 24.
The Dark Blues, who started with the same team that kicked off the derby, were on the back foot on 12 minutes when goalkeeper Jack Hamilton had to punch a Keatings freekick out from under his bar.
Hamilton then saved a Charlie Trafford strike low down on 16 minutes as the visitors made the better start to the match.
On 17 minutes, there was little surprise when ICT took a deserved lead.
It was a nice move that saw Kevin McHattie deliver a long-distance ball to Shaun Rooney on the right-hand side of the box. He took a touch then cut it back to the unmarked Doran, who swept a crisp, first-timed shot past Hamilton.
The Dens men were getting sliced open by the Highlanders and it was 2-0 to the visitors on 24 minutes.
Keatings was the scorer this time following a Dundee corner at the other end of the pitch. He capitalised fully on a slip by Jordan Marshall, drove forward into the other box then picked his spot with a low drive that went between Hamitlon and the far post.
The home team were being ripped apart and it was so close to being 3-0 to Inverness when Miles Storey slammed a shot into the side-netting on 27 minutes.
A couple of minutes later, Dundee frontman Danny Johnson was booked for a foul on Carl Tremarco.
The Dark Blues were struggling to create anything in the final third and, all in all, it was a totally forgettable first half for them and their fans.
The second period started much better for the hosts, though, with ICT goalie Mark Ridgers making two quickfire saves to keep out shots from Sean Mackie and Marshall.
On the hour mark, Caley keeper Ridgers was called on again but he did well to hold on to Jordan McGhee’s fine 25-yard strike.
Inverness scorer Doran fired a freekick into the arms of home goalie Hamilton before, up at the other end, Dundee midfielder Paul McGowan’s header was pushed away by Ridgers.
On 70 minutes, Marshall saw a strike deflected wide as the hosts tried to claw their way back but there weren’t exactly wave after wave of attacks on the Caley goal and the three points headed back up the A9.
Unsurprisingly, a chorus of boos from Dundee fans greeted the final whistle.
