Dundee “came up with the answers” to see off a stubborn Arbroath in their 2-0 Gayfield win says manager Tony Docherty.
The Dark Blues are clear at the top of Group D in the Premier Sports Cup after second-half Luke McCowan and Ethan Ingram goals moved them onto six points from six.
The clash was a tale of two penalties – Jon McCracken saving from Innes Murray early on with the score at 0-0 and McCowan making no mistake from the same spot in the second half.
“Jon McCracken’s save was excellent. He made another couple of really strong saves,” boss Docherty said.
“I thought it was a great performance from Jon tonight.
“Important saves at the right time.”
Keeper quality
McCracken denied Murray twice in the opening half with two fine stops.
His counterpart at the other end put in a superb showing himself as he kept the Premiership side at bay in the opening period.
McCowan on a couple of occasions, Mo Sylla and Ryan Astley all saw goal-bound efforts kept out as summer signing Aidan McAdams impressed between the sticks.
However, he was finally beaten when Thomas O’Brien pulled down the busy Scott Tiffoney shortly after the restart.
McCowan stepped up to break the deadlock by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way on 51 minutes.
The chances kept coming for the visitors and victory was assured on 79 minutes.
Simon Murray was on for a first appearance since his big summer move but he was denied a debut goal by the home goalie pulling off yet another save.
Another new signing was on hand to mop up, however, as wing-back Ingram smashed the rebound high into the net.
‘Game intellect’
It was a night where patience was required for the Premiership side as the Red Lichties goalkeeper denied them for much of the night.
“The pleasing part was we didn’t get frustrated,” Docherty added.
“We kept our organisation and discipline and were relentless in terms of what we were trying to do.
“That’s because they’re the right things to do and you saw that with the second goal.
“We work on getting down the sides and cutback crosses and that’s what got us the goal.
“The players have a confidence that if they keep doing the right things, they’ll get the result in the end.
“It was brilliant for me to see that. The players came up with the answers.
“You could see we played Arbroath earlier in the season and Jim is a great coach.
“He set his team up in a way to negate our strengths and that’s why it was a real challenge for the players.
“They had to come up with answers and I thought we did that. We showed a lot of game intellect to manage the game and get the performance and the points.
“To play a really difficult game at this stage and come away with a win is very pleasing.”
‘Challenged them to win every game’
Victory sees Dundee two points ahead of second-placed Annan Athletic at the top of Group D.
The two sides face each other next Tuesday at Brechin’s Glebe Park where a win would put Docherty’s team on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages.
“I challenged the players early on in this competition because we didn’t qualify last year,” he added.
“I’ve challenged them to win every game and, when they can, keep clean sheets.
“They did that tonight, winning a difficult game at a difficult venue.”
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