Dundee suffered their third defeat of the season at the hands of Inverness in five-goal thriller at Dens Park.
While the football may have been entertaining for the neutral, the home support were left to rue a number of missed opportunities as the visitors snatched a late winner.
Goals in either half for The Dee weren’t enough to stop a Cameron Harper-inspired performance from Caley Thistle.
The left back scored two stunners and won a penalty for the away side, sending all three points back to the Highlands.
Key moments
The game started at some pace with both sides having early chances.
Dundee thought they should have had a penalty on six minutes when Sweeney headed a McMullan corner towards goal, Robinson looked to prod the ball over the line but it was blocked by Thistle striker Billy Mckay.
Five Dee players charged towards the ref in disbelief as play was waved on.
The home side didn’t have to wait long to open the scoring with the Dark Blues bundling over the line on 12 minutes.
Sweeney was credited for it but never celebrated, suggesting an Inverness player had the deciding touch.
For their early dominance, Dundee shot themselves in the foot just four minutes later.
Ashcroft fluffed his clearance from a Caley Jags corner. Cameron Harper still had everything to do but managed to curl a stunning effort into the top corner. Harry Sharp had no chance.
Dundee kept plugging away and looked the more dangerous but would go into the break 2-1 down.
Harry Sharp was judged to have fouled Harper in the box and Billy Mckay tucked the penalty away.
Into the second half and Dundee started on the front foot and were back level on 57 minutes.
Paul McMullan fired in a fierce shot, which appeared to hit Grayson on the way through, past Mark Ridgers.
Steven Boyd was on hand to clear Ashcroft’s goal-bound header off the line before Robinson blocked a certain goal from teammate Josh Mulligan’s shot.
Just as Dundee were pushing for a winner, they were left stunned by another sublime strike from Harper.
The 20-year-old was given too much space and time on the edge of the box and rifled and effort low past Sharp.
Any hopes of another comeback were dashed when skipper Sweeney was given his marching orders on 89 minutes.
It was a second booking for the defender who was judged to have deliberately impeded Zak Delaney.
Dundee’s star man – Paul McMullan
The winger never halted all afternoon.
As well as a danger on the wings, McMullan whipped in a number of dangerous balls from open play and set pieces.
He was rewarded for his efforts with a goal on 57 minutes – even if the Dundee Twitter account credited Grayson for it.
57' | 2-2
Corner is played back in and McMullan hammers it at goal and it's turned in on the line by Grayson #thedee
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) September 17, 2022
Player ratings
Sharp 6; Marshall 6, Sweeney 6, Ashcroft 6, French 6; Williamson 6 (McGowan 7), McGhee 6, Grayson 6, Mulligan 7 (McGinn 6), McMullan 8; Robinson 7 (Rudden 6).
Subs not used: Ledgzins, Kerr, Sheridan, Anderson, Cameron, Strachan
Manager under the microscope
Gary Bowyer made two changes from the side which overcame Queen’s Park in their previous game.
Ryan Sweeney returned from suspension, and retained the captain’s armband, while Jordan Marshall regained his place at left back. Out dropped Cammy Kerr and Lyle Cameron.
The Dark Blues lined up with four at the back with Mr Versatile Jordan McGhee pushing up into midfield.
Paul McGowan, Niall McGinn and Zak Rudden were introduced in the second half.
Cillian Sheridan returned to the bench after 11 months out.
Man in the middle
Peter Stuart was not a popular man at Dens Park.
In the opening moments, he denied Dundee a penalty after claims Mckay handled on the line. The ball was just a few yards away when struck, so the jury is still out on that one, despite the initial pleas from the home side.
Just as the first half was drawing to a close, the whistle blower pointed to the spot after Sharp brought down goalscorer Cameron on the byline.
The ball looked destined for a goalkick by the left back never gave up hope and went down as the keeper tried to get a hand to it.
That, and a number of other decisions did not go down well with the home support with Dee boss Bowyer having a word in his ear.
He was involved in one final controversial decision right at the death when he sent off Sweeney.
The defender stood his ground with Delaney running straight into him. There looked like little else Sweeney could do but was shown his second red card of the season.
The only decision Dundee fans did agree with was to book Inverness boss Billy Dodds early in the second half.
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