Tony Docherty branded his side’s defending ‘unacceptable’ as they shipped another four goals in defeat to Aberdeen.
Simon Murray passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to give the Dark Blues the lead late in the first-half when his penalty was saved by Dimitar Mitov.
And it proved an extremely costly miss in the eventual 4-1 defeat at a packed Pittodrie.
Ante Palaversa gave Aberdeen the opener seven minutes after the break and a second from Topi Keskinen just four minutes later had the Dons’ tails up.
Murray gave Dundee hope with a 70th minute header.
But the home side restored their two-goal advantage just over a minute later as Kevin Nisbet’s quick-thinking free-kick sent fellow substitute Vicente Besuijen through just moments after their introduction.
With seconds to go, Nisbet added a fourth that was harsh on the Dark Blues.
“Very,” responded the Dundee boss when asked if it was a ‘sore one’. “I thought it was a really, really strong first-half performance the players put in.
“They carried out everything to the letter that we’ve been working on all week.
‘Dominated’
“[Seun] Adewumi’s got a one-on-one and I thought we dominated possession, we dominated the ball and obviously the penalty we get is an opportunity to score.
“So I think if we’d gone in [at half-time] 2-0 up it wouldn’t have been an unfair reflection on the game.
“But, you know, to then lose the goals, and the manner of the goals that we lost, is just, for me, unacceptable.”
First, seven minutes after the restart, Palaversa latched onto a loose ball to fire in the breakthrough goal after Dundee failed to deal with a Leighton Clarkson corner from the left.
Then, in the 57th minute, Clark Robertson’s attempt to clear only succeeded in teeing up Keskinen following a Nicky Devlin throw-in on the right.
In between times, Duk had struck the post with a glancing header from another Clarkson corner.
It was a devastating four-minute spell from the Dons.
Yet, Dundee sparked thoughts of another incredible comeback when Murray headed in a cross from substitute Scott Tiffoney.
But the hopes were instantly dashed as Nisbet’s free-kick picked out the run of Besuijen beyond a static Dundee rearguard and the Dutchman calmly found the net.
‘Not doing their job’
Nisbet then rubbed salt in the wounds in the last minute of injury-time with a shot that deflected heavily off Ryan Astley.
“Three goals we lose from set plays,” added Docherty, whose side sit seventh in the Premiership. “The first one is from a corner where somebody’s not doing their job at the edge of the box picking up.
“The second one’s from a throw-in where again we’re allowing Aberdeen possession to get in our box.
“We get ourselves back in the game, with a fantastic goal for Simon Murray. [Scott] Tiffoney gives us a real charge when he comes on. You know, it’s game on then.
“And to be so naive, somebody not to stand over the ball and for the defenders not to see the run of the attacking player, it’s just difficult to take that.
“So my feeling is that of real frustration and disappointment, because I felt in that first-half performance we showed we were a really good team.
“But we also showed in that second-half why we’re not winning football matches.
“I can’t come away from my disappointment and my frustration at the nature [of the goals]. Aberdeen don’t need to do a lot to score those goals today and I think that’s self-inflicted.
“And it’s been a wee bit of a story this season.
Docherty: ‘I need to address that’
“I’ve got a really young group and it’s about developing and improving them.
“But, you know, there comes a time they’re making too many mistakes, individual errors, and it’s costing the team.
“So, as a manager, I need to address that.”
Dundee suffered a blow when Ziyad Larkeche had to be replaced with 11 minutes remaining.
And then, worryingly, Fin Robertson left the pitch on a stretcher at the end of the game and was taken to hospital.
“He [Robertson] got a kick and he’s got quite a swelling in his shin,” added Docherty. “So they’re taking him up to the A&E as a precaution just to get an X-ray and make sure he’s okay.
“But he’s in quite a bit of discomfort at the moment.
“I think [Larkeche] has got a tweak in his hamstring. I don’t know the extent of that.
“We’ll send him for a scan, I think, and just see what it is. It’s sad and frustrating.”
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