Dundee boss Jim McIntyre admits he was as pleased with his team’s second-half resilience as much as the footballing excellence they had shown in the first 45 against Kilmarnock last night.
The Dark Blues established a 2-1 lead by the break at Dens thanks to two Andrew Nelson goals.
They probably should have been further ahead but were pegged back in the second half when Chris Burke netted with a superb free-kick.
Dundee were then under the cosh and it took some last-ditch defending along with vital saves to ensure the game remained all square as the clock ticked down to the final whistle.
However, deep into stoppage time, McIntyre’s men had a gilt-edged chance to take all three points when they were awarded a penalty after Kenny Miller was brought down.
The former Scotland striker took the spot-kick himself but it was saved by Killie keeper Daniel Bachmann.
Despite missing out on a vital victory, the Dens boss was still satisfied by the night’s work.
McIntyre said: “It is a very good point if you take the penalty out of the equation.
“I thought after the second goal Kilmarnock were well on top and had us by the throat.
“The pleasing aspect for me and the positives to take out of the game were that second half we hung in and dug in.
“There was desperate defending at times and saves to make as well as the quality that we showed first half when we were excellent.
“We moved it well, we caused them problems and had Kilmarnock really worried.
“Nelson’s finishes . . . I thought him and Craig Curran looked a real threat together.
“Our wide players were causing havoc but Kilmarnock made a wee system change in the second half and we struggled to deal with it, hence the reason we had to change the shape.
McIntyre added: “Second half I just felt we gave the ball away constantly.
“It was the total opposite in halves in terms of possession but you have to give Kilmarnock a lot of credit as they are a good side who are used to winning games.
“How many times have they come back in a game this season? They have done it lots so it doesn’t faze them going behind and that comes with having a team who don’t panic and keep trying to do the right things while we are not at that stage yet.
“That’s what we want to become but I have to give the boys a lot of credit for hanging in there.
“Kenny is disappointed and gutted but he has scored a lot of important goals in my time here.
“Everybody has missed a penalty
“It was a great opportunity to win the game but truth be told, we wouldn’t have deserved it.”
