Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee 1-0 Aberdeen: Player ratings and star man as Luke McCowan penalty sends Dee back into top six

The Dark Blues moved ahead of Hibs after a dominant Dens display.

Luke McCowan celebrates after putting Dundee in front. Image: SNS
Luke McCowan celebrates after putting Dundee in front. Image: SNS

Luke McCowan’s third penalty of the season saw Dundee move back into the Premiership’s top six.

The 1-0 scoreline that dispatched a sorry Aberdeen didn’t reflect the dominance of the Dark Blues performance.

It took a second-half penalty from Luke McCowan following a lengthy VAR check to break the deadlock.

Victory, though, was fully deserved as the Dee leapfrogged Hibs and into sixth spot once more.

First half

Dundee suffered a blow pre-match when Owen Beck was ruled out with a groin complaint, joining Josh Mulligan on a lengthening injury list.

That saw Owen Dodgson come in at left wing-back with Dara Costelloe on the right flank.

The Dons made no changes from their weekend cup win over Kilmarnock, though there was a change in the dugout after Neil Warnock’s exit.

Dundee boss Tony Docherty meets Aberdeen interim Peter Leven ahead of kick-off. Image: Shutterstock
Dundee boss Tony Docherty meets Aberdeen interim Peter Leven ahead of kick-off. Image: Shutterstock

The Dark Blues have won just one of the last 21 meetings between the sides but the first half belied that record.

It was one-way traffic with Aberdeen happy to hear the half-time whistle the scores still level.

One fright as Bojan Miovski almost bundled through was all that happened in the Dundee defensive third.

Lyall Cameron is denied by Kelle Roos. Image: Shutterstock
Lyall Cameron is denied by Kelle Roos. Image: Shutterstock

The other was far more busy. Scott Tiffoney and Curtis Main were causing problems, ably supported by McCowan and Lyall Cameron.

It was the latter who went closest for the Dark Blues, seeing a sliding effort blocked by Kelle Roos in the away goal on 20 minutes before firing an effort wide from 12 yards with the goalie beaten.

However, despite knocking on the door throughout the opening half there would be no breakthrough.

Second half

Aberdeen’s task second half was to ensure Dundee rued those missed chances. And they started the period with far more intent.

The Dark Blues struggled to repeat their dominance of the opening 45 – but that didn’t stop them taking the lead on 66 minutes.

A high ball into the area dropped in among a group of players before Tiffoney turned the ball onto the post and wide.

Referee Steven McLean points to the spot. Image: Shutterstock
Referee Steven McLean points to the spot. Image: Shutterstock

But VAR spotted a handball by Jack MacKenzie in the melee and, after a check on the monitor, referee Steven McLean pointed to the spot.

McCowan stepped up and made no mistake, knocking in his third penalty by sending Roos the wrong way.

Minutes later the result was almost sealed as Tiffoney fed Cameron but the youngster turned his effort wide of the far post.

Dundee were well deserving of their lead but the narrow nature of it meant some nervy moments in the seven minutes of time added on.

However, the Dark Blues got through those to register a major victory in their quest for a top-six finish.

The dominance may not have brought goals but a vital three points nonetheless.

Star Man: Lyall Cameron

Lyall Cameron takes on Graeme Shinnie. Image: SNS
Dundee’s Lyall Cameron takes on Graeme Shinnie of Aberdeen. Image: SNS

Luke McCowan again got the goal but it was his midfield partner that impressed the most.

How Lyall Cameron finished this game without a goal is something only he can answer.

Some real moments of quality from a super talent.

Player Ratings

Dundee FC: McCracken 8, Shaughnessy 7, Portales 7, Donnelly 7, Dodgson 7, Costelloe 6 (Lamie 90), Sylla 8, Cameron 8, McCowan 8, Tiffoney 8 (Robertson 90), Main 7.

Subs not used: Legzdins, Sharp, Astley, Bakayoko, Boateng, Mellon.

Aberdeen: Roos, Devlin, MacKenzie, Shinnie, Gartenmann, McGrath, Barron (Sokler 80), Miovski, Phillips (Clarkson 71), MacDonald, Hoilett (Duk 60).

Subs not used: Doohan, Jensen, Clarkson, McGarry, Polvara, Duncan, Milne.

Referee: Steven McLean

Attendance: 8,215

Conversation