Dundee’s failure to see off nearest rivals St Johnstone has left them staring down the barrel of relegation.
The Dark Blues are not down yet but face the steepest of uphill battles to overhaul the five-point gap to the Perth Saints with four matches to go.
They got off to the perfect start, taking the lead after just 10 minutes, but a stubborn defence was eventually undone in the second half.
The fat lady is beginning to warm up her vocal chords for Dundee but what did the 1-1 draw on Saturday tell us?
Fans
The team needed support and they more than got that from the stands.
Just shy of 8,000 piled into Dens Park to create an excellent atmosphere, both sets of supporters contributing to it.
The Dundee fans, though, were treated to an impressive start from their side, showing no sign of nerves in this biggest of games.
And they responded, too. But there was to be no glorious ending to send them all home happy, instead a forlorn look at the league table as they trudged out of Dens Park.
Jordan Marshall
Left-back Marshall has been one of the unsung heroes of recent weeks, getting stronger and stronger with each performance.
Once more he was impressive in defence, but it’s the powerful running down the flank that gives so much to his team.
What he hasn’t shown before in a Dundee shirt is the finishing capability of an in-form striker.
His first goal of the season was a beauty of a finish.
Charlie Adam
Dundee’s talisman did his best to rally the team early on, spraying passes around from the middle of the park.
But, as the match wore on, the former Scotland man began to tire and his normally deadly set-piece delivery let him down.
Sensational 🤣 https://t.co/lAkBWk0adZ
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) April 23, 2022
As did his attempt to ease pressure on his team by winning a free-kick inside his own half.
It wasn’t a difficult decision for referee Bobby Madden to spot the dive and show yellow.
It does mean Adam is now only one booking away from suspension, however.
Mark McGhee
Manager McGhee made clear post-match there would be no moping from the Dark Blues and conceding defeat in their bid to survive was not an option.
With chairman Tim Keyes in the stand for the first time since McGhee was appointed, what the future holds for the man in the dugout remains to be seen.
That’s 10 matches in charge, nine in the Premiership, without a victory for the experienced coach.
The new-manager bounce hasn’t come for the beleaguered Dark Blues.
He still has time to affect that, of course.
However, planning for a return to the Championship will have started already at Dens Park.
St Johnstone
Saints were the better team across the 90 minutes and created the better opportunities.
Dundee were all over them at the start and the end but, in between, Callum Davidson’s side were the team in charge.
They created good openings but some woeful finishing let the home side off the hook.
That, though, in itself is damning for Dundee. Saints are 11th for a reason after 34 games – if Dundee can’t beat them when it matters, there’s only one place they end up and that is the Championship.
Hope still or hopeless?
There are 12 points still to play for and five to make up on St Johnstone.
It is not completely hopeless but Dundee are now relying on favours from elsewhere. Judging by the form of St Mirren and Aberdeen, that’s not a great situation to be in.
Next week sees the Dark Blues face the Dons while St Johnstone host St Mirren – only three points at Pittodrie will give them any chance of pulling off a great escape.
