It felt strange to think it on day two of the season but Dundee’s home clash with Morton was in the must-win category.
Such is the nature of the shortened 27-game campaign and the manner of the opening day trouncing at Tynecastle, in many ways the Dark Blues absolutely needed three points on the board.
With the Jambos already on six points, having edged past Arbroath the night before, and fans hopes of a title charge trampled by the 6-2 defeat on day one, the Dundee players needed to show something.
And they certainly did that.
It may not have been an all-conquering swagger of a performance but the win was solid, hard-fought and well-earned by James McPake’s men.
On the back of good form stretching beyond the clubs’ previous meeting back in February, Morton will have eyed a bit of fragility in the Dark Blues and set out to take full advantage.
What they met, however, was a completely different Dundee side from the one brushed aside so easily by Hearts.
From the off, McPake’s men showed pace, invention and desire through the attacking additions of Declan McDaid, Danny Mullen and goalscorer Jonathan Afolabi to the starting XI.
They conceded within three minutes at Tynecastle – this time they had a lead of their own by minute five.
Charlie Adam and Graham Dorrans are expected to be the creative forces in the team but, once again, left-back Jordan Marshall showed how valuable he is to the team by playing another big part in a goal.
Having watched him for years now, you won’t find a better left-back in the division.
Another who really impressed on his return to the side was Shaun Byrne.
Questions were raised over where he would fit into the team with the arrival of another central midfielder in Adam.
However, Byrne showed on Saturday exactly why Dundee want to keep him around.
The biggest positive for Dundee, though, was the resilience they showed in keeping the clean sheet and reducing goalie Calum Ferrie’s workload to very little.
The back four were all hit for six the game before at Hearts but in the space of eight days to turn that performance around into a very decent defensive showing spoke volumes.
They needed to put that 6-2 defeat behind them as quickly as possible and a hard-fought 1-0 was the ideal way to do it.
Next up, they have a chance to well and truly put the Tynecastle trip to bed.
With Hearts in Scottish Cup action, victory puts Dundee level with the Jambos and opponents Raith Rovers.
It’s likely Dunfermline will occupy top spot, sadly I don’t see them having too much trouble with my side Queen of the South.
After the hammering in the capital, to be level again with the Jambos with six points on the board after three games is the reply Dundee needed.
Might have been a week late but looks like 2020/21 is alive and kicking for the Dark Blues.
Another point on the board and a third clean sheet on the bounce is an excellent run but Dundee United’s form is on a knife-edge right now.
A 1-0 win over Kelty Hearts, followed by goalless draws with Aberdeen and
St Johnstone may be satisfying to manager Micky Mellon and his defenders for the work they’ve put in recently.
However, it’s not exactly entertaining for Arabs to watch.
I’ve said before that I don’t mind a bit of pragmatism, as long as it gets results.
However, no shots on target yet again with the talent they have up top in Lawrence Shankland, Nicky Clark and Marc McNulty is taking it a bit far.
My massive concern is that inability to create chances continues.
Because Ross County and the opponents to come up afterwards know that if they score once against United, they’ll win the game.
Quickly that good feeling about picking up points when not playing well disappears.
Hopefully, now it’s time for Mellon and his staff to concentrate on getting the supply to their frontmen sorted.
Shankland, McNulty and Clark should be their matchwinners.
Right now it’s Benjamin Siegrist who is earning the points.
The big keeper has been superb and it’s vital they keep him fit.
If anyone beats him to Player of the Year this term, they’ll have had some season.
I’m pleased to see there has been some common sense down south over the pay-per-view nonsense.
Games that had been shown on BT, Sky and sometimes the BBC have recently been stuck on box office channels, costing £14.95 a pop – even Sky and BT are unhappy at that situation.
It’s all at the behest of the clubs, who want some ticket money coming in.
Strangely it’s Newcastle and Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley who has decried the scheme, though he still wants to charge £4.95.
The money in English football is already scary, maybe this is a reality check for owners that fans are not an endless stream of cash to tap into, especially right now.
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