Dundee boss Gary Bowyer hailed a “brilliant team effort” from his side after they defeated Ayr United 2-0 on their own patch with 10 men.
Luke McCowan’s fine double sent the Dark Blues to the top of the Championship over the festive period, leapfrogging the Honest Men in the process.
The two goals came after a red card each – Josh Mulligan seeing red after just 19 minutes after tussling with Ayr’s Nick McAllister before David Bangala earned a second yellow card on 63 minutes.
And Bowyer was delighted with the way his team responded to going down to 10 men so early on.
“To play like that for 70 minutes with 10 men against top of the league, I can’t praise the players enough,” Bowyer, who has struggled with illness this week, said.
“I knew it would be a challenge for us but we started the game well and looked strong.
“The sending off changed the whole complex of the game but the way we handled that from then was brilliant.
“We had discipline, really good shape.
Luke McCowan
“The sending off made it a 10 v 10 game and we looked really strong again before a brilliant goal from Luke McCowan.
“The second was a wonderful free-kick and it wasn’t a fluke, he practises them.
“It was a brilliant team effort.
“I’ve not been in much this week so credit goes to our wonderful staff, I can’t thank them enough.”
Red card
Were there any complaints over the decision to send Josh Mulligan off?
“I’ve not seen it but I spoke with the referee at half-time and he said it was a tussle and there was an elbow,” Bowyer said.
“Once the elbow comes you can’t have an argument but I haven’t seen it.”
‘Brilliant support’
The three points sees Dundee move into first place for the first time all season ahead of the festive period.
And Bowyer was delighted to send a jubilant travelling support back to Dundee full of voice.
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) December 23, 2022
“It was an absolutely fantastic win. We are buzzing to send the supporters home happy, after a long journey on a horrible night,” he added.
“Two days before Christmas, their support is brilliant and we thank them for their efforts.
“It’s brilliant for the supporters and everyone connected with the club to be top but there are no prizes now.
“We’ve played half a season so we know there is a hell of a lot of football to play.
“We’ll enjoy Christmas being top of the league but there’s a long way to go.
“We won’t get carried away.”
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