Dundee’s 2-1 victory over the Championship’s surprise package Ayr United was a deserved one.
The Dark Blues were the better side throughout, even if the combination of some lax defending and poor finishing meant they had to settle for a victory margin of just one goal.
This was a Dundee side far removed from the one that let slip a lead at Cove Rangers last week and a step up from the draw at Arbroath.
It was timely too as some fans began to waver in their belief that their team could win this division.
But Gary Bowyer’s men are now right in amongst the league leaders in what is, even for the Championship, an impossibly tight second-tier table.
Chances, chances, chances
Throughout the season boss Bowyer has pointed to the amount of scoring opportunities his side are squandering.
This match was a case in point.
There were a couple passed up early on but it was the second half where Dundee’s profligacy was obvious.
The score was already 2-1 when the Dark Blues’ finishing deserted them – not the worst time for that to happen, though they would have preferred to make life a bit easier for themselves in the latter stages.
Josh Mulligan was impressive off the bench at half-time, playing a key role in Zach Robinson’s goal and generally being too hot for Ayr to handle.
However, set up twice by Paul McMullan, Mulligan had the chances to kill the game but couldn’t manage it while Robinson also had a couple of good opportunities himself.
That didn’t matter in the end but the performance deserved a far more one-sided scoreline than 2-1.
Midfield
Questions had been raised about the central midfield pairing of Joe Grayson and Jordan McGhee with Grayson himself admitting he’d been below par.
Both, though, provided the answer to those questions with fine individual performances.
Grayson showed more of what we saw in his debut at home to Arbroath, spraying good long balls out to team-mates on the flanks and keeping things ticking over in possession.
McGhee, meanwhile, looked more like the Jordan McGhee of a couple of seasons ago, particularly in the second half.
Timing his attacking runs perfectly, the central midfielder was unlucky not to score with his initial effort before Zach Robinson made it 2-0.
And he had a chance beyond that saved by Charlie Albinson.
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— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) October 15, 2022
Paul McMullan on the right, meanwhile, was absolutely excellent in everything he did.
His goal was superb but more than that the quality of his approach play created chance after chance for his side.
On the left Luke McCowan had a quieter afternoon but played his part as the midfield four impressed.
Gary Bowyer
The online reaction to Dundee’s team selection was not positive after boss Bowyer picked pretty much the same team as the one that faced Arbroath last week.
But the Dens gaffer’s conviction in sticking to his guns paid off in spades.
It was a crucial victory for a couple of key reasons.
Of course, it keeps the Dark Blues in the hunt for the title and among the top six sides separated by just three points.
With both Partick and Inverness winning, the victory was vital.
More importantly, the win kept fans very much onside at a crucial time.
Goals
Dundee may not have a Dipo Akinyemi streaking away at the top of the Championship scoring charts.
What they do have is an impressive spread of scorers.
Zach Robinson has joined Lyall Cameron in leading the way with five in all competitions now but there are also two on four (Zak Rudden and Alex Jakubiak).
Then there’s another couple on three in Luke McCowan and Cammy Kerr with 16 players off the mark already this campaign.
That’s pretty impressive.
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