Dundee are into their first cup quarter-final under manager James McPake after seeing off Motherwell.
Their last-eight appearance in September will be only their second in 12 years as they welcome cup holders St Johnstone to Dens Park.
That Tayside tussle promises to be another tight affair after last season’s Scottish Cup clash that saw the Saints win 1-0.
But what did we learn from Saturday’s victory over Motherwell?
Character
This Dundee side haven’t been short of mental tests in the past year.
What they continue to do is demonstrate their strength in that regard by continually bouncing back.
That’s a trait that’s not been evident around Dens Park for a long time.
"I know the character that is in that dressing room."
🗣️ | James McPake | #thedee pic.twitter.com/ClVhfYB3QI
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) August 14, 2021
Streaks of five, six, seven, 10 defeats on the bounce have cost managers their jobs in recent years.
Bad runs will hit any team, what this Dundee side seem to possess is an ability to shrug off last week’s disappointment.
And that was evident on Saturday.
After a 6-0 hiding dished out by Celtic, plenty feared the worst for what the season lay in store for Dundee.
The confidence of the players, however, remained undimmed.
And they kept a decent Motherwell side at arm’s length for much of the contest, deserving their clean sheet.
They got a bit lucky with Connor Shields’ first-half miss and Adam Legzdins made a couple of good saves.
But their performance overall was anything but a team that had been hit for six the previous weekend.
Paul McMullan
Anyone who saw McMullan in action for Dundee last season will not be surprised that he’s begun racking up the assists this term.
Already in the League Cup he has set up five goals as well as one in the Premiership.
More than that, though, the winger brings a pacey threat to the Dark Blues forward line.
Without looking, Charlie Adam sent a long ball over Motherwell’s left-back on Saturday safe in the knowledge McMullan would have the speed to reach the pass.
The former Dundee United man was just too fast for the Championship, on both sides of Sandeman Street.
Now he’s beginning to hurt teams in the top flight and that fear will soon permeate Premiership defences.
Teams will drop to cut the space for him to run into. That, in turn, will allow space for Dundee’s midfielders to play so even if he’s not on the ball McMullan is a real asset.
By mid-August, he already has six assists – how many might he end the season with?
Size doesn’t matter
It’s what you do with it that counts.
Dundee had a noticeable height disadvantage compared with Motherwell on Saturday.
None of the front three are renowned for their quality in the air.
However, that trio of Jason Cummings, McMullan and Luke McCowan stood up to the challenge presented by the ’Well back line.
Cummings in particular led the line with tenacity. Early on, Dundee played a number of high balls forward.
Good morning 🙌 🙌 🙌
The draw for the Quarter Finals will be shown live on @PremierSportsTV following their coverage of Celtic vs. Hearts this afternoon #thedee pic.twitter.com/wRMyfFvqar
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) August 15, 2021
Not to a targetman but knowing the front three would fight enough that a second ball would be up for grabs. If not, those three harried the ball.
That height advantage did show for most of the 17 corners Dundee racked up. Motherwell dealt with 16 of them.
The one they didn’t, Lee Ashcroft made count.
The Dark Blues kept knocking at that door.
Eventually it opened and they strode through to the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup.