Recent performances had seen Dundee breathe life into a faltering season.
A long wait for a win was ended in brilliant fashion at the home of fierce rivals Dundee United.
More good performances followed. Another good win last time out, complete with clean sheet.
However, the rediscovered dark blue confidence popped like a balloon at Easter Road on a miserable afternoon in the capital.
Hibs are flying high and in the hotseat to finish third but Dundee know they must show far more than this if they are to get out of relegation trouble.
Courier Sport was at Easter Road to take in one of the poorest displays of the season.
Tale of two seasons
The last time Dundee faced Hibs, the win for the home side left the two teams in far differing positions than they do now.
The Hibees were bottom of the table after that 4-1 loss in November and David Gray was under serious pressure.
Dundee were seventh and better would still come but four months later and the two campaigns have taken wildly different routes.
Hibs are looking good in third, Dundee not so much in 11th.
In the 20 league games played since Hibs have earned 45 points compared to Dundee’s 19 – they’ve won 13 times, losing just once, while the Dee have won just five times and lost 11.
The Edinburgh side have scored 42 goals and conceded 19, Dundee have scored 28 but let in a massive 46.
The goal difference since then is +23 for the Hibees, -18 for the Dee.
Numbers that do not make good reading at Dens Park.
Has it been coming?
Dundee’s form going into the game was good.
Last time out they’d beaten St Mirren 2-0 at home, picking up a first clean sheet in the league since October.
But suddenly that win over the Buddies has taken on a different hue.
Offensively that wasn’t a good display. Simon Murray took an early chance and then was gifted a second.
Other than that there were few chances for the Dee.
But they defended well and earned their shut-out.
At Easter Road, they followed up the poor attacking display with another edition. Against St Mirren they managed six shots, two on target and an xG of 0.65.
Against Hibs, Dundee had four shots on goal, two on target and an xG of just 0.13.
The difference this time was the defensive display was nowhere near the same level and Hibs are far more clinical than the Buddies.
They scored four with fewer shots than St Mirren the week before and, going by the xG stats, didn’t create the same level of chances.
They did, though, have Kieron Bowie and Dwight Gayle. Two strikers at either end of their careers but with one thing in common – knowing where the goal is.
The St Mirren performance was written off because they won.
There’s no writing this one off.
Goals
Dundee’s defence has been a talking point all season. We all know it’s bad.
To nail down that point, the Dark Blues are closing in on their worst-ever season in terms of conceding league goals.
That stands at 80. They are on 71 conceded with five matches still to go.
The worst defences in top-flight football this century are Aberdeen and Gretna, who both let in 83.
These four were very poor.
On his milestone appearance 💯
Rocky Bushiri celebrates his 100th game for @HibernianFC by scoring the opener 🥬
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/phpGwBAPDa
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 13, 2025
The first from a simple corner kick. Dundee’s approach was strange. Josh Mulligan standing in an odd position marking nobody outside the danger zone.
Then Simon Murray, Joe Shaughnessy and Lewis Miller all miss the cross at the near post and Rocky Bushiri sticks out a boot to finish.
Clark Robertson admitted culpability for his marking post-match.
The second was the biggest concern.
Dundee had started the second half pretty well, though without creating any chance of note.
But then Miller drove forward with the ball out of defence, laid the ball out wide, spotted glaring gap in the Dundee defence and kept going forward.
Kieron Bowie finds the net! 🥬
The substitute doubles @HibernianFC's lead against Dundee with a fine finish 👊
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/icf5aXJ4pA
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 13, 2025
Dundee’s entire midfield saw him go and did nothing about it. Mo Sylla and Mulligan the main culprits, seemingly leaving the tracking back to each other.
Sylla won’t want to see Gayle’s goal again, his attempt at a tackle was weak to say the least. The Frenchman has been an excellent signing for Dundee but a defensive midfielder can’t let a player like Gayle wander past them so easily.
The fourth summed up a lot of this season – throwing too much forward in attack and being caught out with five men ahead of the ball.
Basic lapses continuing to cost goals.
Sub standards
Substitutions played a huge role in this match. And the difference in quality between the benches was stark.
It must be said that the playing budget for Hibs is considerably bigger than Dundee’s.
But that shouldn’t prevent a club like Dundee having options in reserve to change games.
The home side deservedly led at half-time but the Dark Blues improved after the break.
That ended thanks to the impact from the bench.
The three second-half goals involved Bowie, Nicky Cadden and Gayle – all brought on after the hour mark.
In comparison, Dundee’s subs included a striker playing out of position at right wing plus a winger and two inexperienced full-backs yet to prove they can cut it at this level.
Two were enforced through injury but clear failings in recruitment showed themselves again.
What it means
The performance was bad, it raises real concern for the final five matches. More of this and the season will spiral.
There was no damage done in terms of the table this weekend, though.
The bottom four all lost. St Johnstone couldn’t cut the gap and Kilmarnock and Ross County remain just a point ahead.
What has changed is the goal difference. Dundee had a wee cushion over their nearest rivals. Now they don’t.
Kilmarnock are one goal better off, County are two behind and Saints a further two back.
It’s a let-off that a poor, poor performance wasn’t punished more by relegation battle rivals.
They can’t afford to put in another display like this one, though.
Do that and it could be fatal to Dundee’s Premiership status.
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