There was an audible sigh of relief from the dark blue side of the city when the final whistle blew on Saturday at Fir Park.
There was a sense of a corner turned as players fell to their knees on the pitch and fans celebrated.
Dundee had ended their Premiership purgatory and could enjoy the sweet, sweet taste of victory in the top flight for the first time in what seemed an age.
If Tony Docherty was given the option to pick his desired reaction from that final nine minutes against Kilmarnock, it would have been this 1-0 win at Motherwell.
Offensively his side played some good stuff and fully merited the lead given by Lyall Cameron’s sharp finish on 38 minutes. They should really have scored more.
And defensively they were strong, protecting that lead and keeping one of the league’s most in-form sides at bay.
Defensive strength that has eluded them far too often this term.
Three points on the board and suddenly Dundee are back in the top six.
Courier Sport was in Motherwell to analyse all the action from potentially one of the biggest moments of the season for the Dark Blues.
Shut out
It had been nine whole matches since Dundee kept a clean sheet.
Only their third of the season – the other two against League One opposition.
It’s been over six months since the Dark Blues earned a Premiership shut-out, 12 league matches.
And boy was it welcome after conceding at least two goals in six of their previous seven matches.
The flak has been flying about that record, intensified after the disastrous collapse against Kilmarnock.
Dundee fronted up to that. And dispelled plenty of the doubt.
The Dark Blues have shown they can defend a lead and defend it well, something that will give a huge injection of confidence for the games to come.
Three points, up the road
A lack of clean sheets wasn’t the only part of Dundee’s recent run that has been improved.
Since the Premier Sports Cup group stage, wins have been far too thin on the ground.
Now, instead of no wins in the last six they have three in the last nine and seven in 14 in all competitions this season.
And you’d bet that will continue to improve in the games to come.
It’s also only a third away league win in 2024, too, while they’ve improved their poor record against Motherwell as well.
This is a first win at Fir Park since 2017 and now a second win in the last 15 against the Steelmen.
In the position Dundee allowed themselves to fall into, the style and the timing of this victory couldn’t have been better.
Carson
All eyes were on the team sheet around 2pm – would Trevor Carson come in for Jon McCracken after the Scotland man’s mistake against Kilmarnock?
When there’s an error like that and an experienced quality goalkeeper is waiting in the wings, a change is going to come.
Come it did and Carson made a difference, even if he didn’t actually have much to do.
Just one save of note, pushing out a fierce Lennon Miller effort in the second half.
But there was a calm assurance that comes from experience.
A couple of key moments coming into bodies to deal with crosses helped, too.
All four of the players coming into the team took their chance.
Ryan Astley made his first league start since May and stood up strong, showing a dependability that belies his lack of action this term.
Fin Robertson put in a fine shift in central midfield, helping keep possession ticking over.
And Scott Fraser showed his class at times, his nous at others and provided an insurance to those around him – not the physical, defensive insurance Mo Sylla usually brings, instead a knowledge that Fraser will not lose the ball.
Fraser was everywhere and his race was run with about 15 minutes to go – all being well, that shift will no doubt help him get fully up to speed.
Vive la France
This was a full team – full squad – display from Dundee. So much so that it’s difficult to pick out any stand-out performances.
Lyall Cameron was very good and capped his performance with a goal.
At the back, though, it was the two French buddies who really showed their worth.
Ziyad Larkeche was a standout against Kilmarnock previously, a performance that deserved more than it got in terms of a result, and was so again.
A constant attacking threat down the left flank and a key part in the goal, Larkeche is really growing into his role at Dundee.
This, too, was his mate Billy Koumetio’s best showing since signing in the summer.
A huge physical presence at the back, the France U/20 international has tarnished some really promising displays with some big defensive errors.
There was none of that this time. Anything that came his way was dealt with.
A flashback to the goal conceded against Aberdeen surely crossed his mind in the first half when he found himself dealing with a long ball into the channel.
Instead of trying something cute, Koumetio launched the ball high into the stand.
Lessons learned indeed.
He was moved into the centre of the back three, possibly to focus his mind on defending first and foremost rather than progressing the ball forward.
It was a big show of confidence from the manager. One that was repaid.
As a whole, the defence was impressive.
One big error came in the second half when Ethan Ingram, unsighted by Clark Robertson in front, headed straight to Jair Tavares in the area. The Motherwell man blazed over.
A sure sign the luck is turning for Dundee.
Onwards and upwards for Tony Docherty and his men.
Conversation