Jack Hamilton was the ideal man to sympathise with Dundee teammate Genseric Kusunga after the 1-0 loss to Aberdeen.
Hamilton gave up his spot on the naughty step to Kusunga when the central defender’s arm got in the way of Dominic Ball’s header to give Aberdeen a penalty at Dens on Saturday.
The spotkick was scored by Gary Mackay-Steven with 15 minutes to go and turned out to be the only goal of the game.
The big man’s head was down as the ball hit the back of the net and Hamilton knew exactly how Kusunga felt because just a week previously it was his mistake that gifted St Mirren victory in Paisley.
“The penalty was just one of those things that happens in football really,” said the Dark Blues’ goalie, who was kept in the team by boss Neil McCann despite that mistake against the Buddies.
“Everyone will agree there isn’t much a defender can do because when you jump you are going to put your arms up.
“When you are two yards away you can’t react quick enough to pull your arms away.
“It has hit his hand but it is still a sore one to take.
“We will get around him because we have a fantastic team spirit in the squad and these things happen.
“We have to try and forget this game and move on to next week.”
Hamilton bounced back well after being given the nod by McCann and he is grateful to his gaffer for standing by him.
He said: “It is finished and forgotten about.
“I held my hands up for my mistake but it is in the past.
“There is nothing you can do about the past.
“You just have to try and take the positives from this match and go again.
“The gaffer could have taken me out but he stuck with me and I owe him a lot for that.
“You know in football that not every day is going to be brilliant but after what happened at St Mirren I want to repay him.
“We had a chat during the week about it and he was brilliant with me.”
Dundee, who were celebrating their 125th anniversary on Saturday and were led out by piper Craig Weir, again paid the penalty for profligacy.
As was the case against St Mirren, the Dark Blues created several good opportunities but ended up empty-handed.
Sofien Moussa, Jean Mendy, Josh Meekings and even sub were Adil Nabi guilty of not converting or even testing the goalie when in decent positions.
After a cagey opening spell, Kharl Madianga showed some neat footwork on 11 minutes before letting fly with a shot from outside the box that wasn’t too far away.
The Dons upped their game after that but it wasn’t until the 19th minute that they had a decent attempt on goal, with Andy Considine heading just wide.
On 21 minutes, a fine run down the right from Jesse Curran ended with a perfect cutback to Moussa but the Tunisian’s shot was ballooned over the bar.
On 36 minutes, Madianga had another go from distance but he couldn’t hit the target either.
It was then almost 1-0 to Dundee two minutes into the second half when Meekings should have got his head to Elton Ngwatala’s corner but missed the ball completely.
With 52 minutes gone, there were loud groans from the Dundee supporters when Moussa fired a shot into row Z.
Mendy then broke forward for the home team and had time and space in which to shoot but he pulled the ball wide of the far post.
Having passed up all those opportunities, the hosts found themselves behind on 75 minutes.
Kusunga was penalised for handball and the cool Mackay-Steven – so often the hammer of the Dees when a Dundee United player – rolled the ball to Hamilton’s left and it proved enough for Aberdeen.
There was still time for Nabi to have his heart broken on 82 minutes when Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis blocked his shot at the near post.
So it is easy to see why McCann is keen to sign the watching Shrewsbury Town striker Sam Jones.
The Dark Blues manager said: “We had three chances which I would call one hundred percent chances to get a goal.
“But we didn’t make the keeper work once so that’s where you fall down.
“The guys in that position need to slow down.
“All our forwards need to show more composure.
“It’s the one thing you can’t work on.
“You can’t replicate having that chance in a game.
“The very best players go cold in those situations and don’t rush things.”
Dons boss Derek McInnes, meanwhile, has told the rest of his players to take a leaf out of substitute Bruce Anderson’s book.
The Dons teenager almost made himself a hero for the second week running.
He could not follow up his last-gasp equaliser against Rangers but came close after climbing off the bench to smash a shot against the Dundee bar.
The 19-year-old still impressed his manager with his intent and McInnes admits he wishes more of his side showed the same.
“I thought wee Bruce gave us a spark up front,” said the Pittodrie boss, who confirmed he is also hoping to sign a new striker this week.
“He is infectious and was just sitting there desperate to get on.
“He gave the defenders something different to think about. He chased everything and was like a wasp.
“He is a goalscorer. There’s no other thought than getting the ball out his feet and shooting when he hits the ball.
“I could do with more in the team expecting to score like him and that goes throughout the team, whether it be centre-halves going up at corners or midfielders.
“I need more with that intent that I’m going to score rather than just hoping to score.”
