Dundee’s main source of frustration at Rangers on Saturday didn’t come from the result or the impact of VAR.
Instead the disappointment comes from not showing their true ability in a second half where they came up against 10 men.
That’s the view of striker Amadou Bakayoko.
The Sierra Leone international opened the scoring early on before Rangers came back with three goals before half-time.
Bakayoko was then at the heart of a red card decision after Jose Cifuentes was sent off for a challenge on the Dundee striker.
But the second half was a disappointment for the Dee, says the frontman.
“We’re definitely disappointed. We can definitely do better. We expect a lot from ourselves,” Bakayoko said.
“We could have given a lot more in that second half but it didn’t go to plan.
“We got a bit more belief after they got the red card but it was about us finding ways to try to exploit them after that.
“We made changes but we didn’t really manage to do it.
“They were compact and it was difficult at the end for us to get through.
“Now we need to look forward to the next one as quickly as possible.”
Rangers ‘always get penalties’
Manager Tony Docherty was angry at the award of a penalty with the score at 1-1 after Aaron Donnelly was adjudged to have pulled Abdallah Sima’s shirt.
And Bakayoko agrees that was the moment the match turned away from the Dark Blues.
“Our gameplan was to take the game in stages. Going up 1-0 very early on, we felt comfortable but needed to hold on for the first half,” he added.
“We needed to dig in and try to get another one.
“But the game swayed after the penalty.
“I didn’t really see what happened but he said Aaron had tugged someone. I didn’t really get a good look at it.
“But they always manage to get penalties, that’s just something that happens.
“It’s gutting but we need to move on and look forward.”
Belief among Dundee players
And despite the defeat, Bakayoko insists belief is high at Dens Park that this season can be something special under Tony Docherty.
They currently sit seventh in the Premiership with 18 points from their first 15 games.
“Working under this manager has been amazing,” the striker added.
“The boys have been unbelievable as well. Everyone wants to achieve things here.
“That’s the same as me.
“Hopefully we can achieve something this season.”
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