News that the March meeting of Dundee United and Dundee has been selected for live TV coverage by Premier Sports confirms the increasing attraction of the city derby to a wider audience.
I think the Dundee derby now outshines the other two city derbies in the eyes of many neutral fans.
It naturally always did for Dees and Arabs, but it seems to me, from speaking to many fans who have no partisan loyalties to any of the teams here, or in Edinburgh or Glasgow, that they think the all-Dundee clash is the more atmospheric and exhilarating of the country’s derby games.
There seems to be greater appreciation among many neutrals for the fixture, which usually provides a thrilling and closely matched game of football, where the competitiveness and quality on offer comes with no attached baggage; just genuine rivalry, which is intense but otherwise reasonably civil.
Meantime, Monday’s Scottish Cup fourth round clash at Dens Park – another TV derby – will be a clash between two city teams with very different styles.
Dundee are more cavalier in attack while United are more intense defensively.
The Dark Blues’ 3-3 draw v Celtic was a perfect illustration of their exhilarating approach, with the powerful running styles of Simon Murray and Josh Mulligan giving the Hoops’ defence a torrid evening, while the intricate skills of attacking midfielder Seun Adewumi caused the visitors serious grief.
Every Dundee player was a star on a night when Tony Docherty’s team won many friends among a live TV audience, with a display that provided passion, pace, pride and purpose.
United go into Monday’s tie off the back of one of the goals of the season in Louis Moult’s acrobatic winner at St Mirren.
Defensively, United, having conceded 17 league goals fewer than Dundee, have a back line tighter than a duck’s posterior; their rear guard gives away less than Scrooge before his visit from Jacob Marley’s ghost.
Even though their ‘goals for’ column isn’t as impressive, with a tally of 31 compared to Dundee’s 37, the threat from Dalby and Moult, along with an uncanny ability to score so late in games, will seriously concentrate minds at Dens.
Meanwhile, the addition of Aaron Donnelly for Dundee has strengthened them in defence, while Mo Sylla’s strength and ball-winning skills grow more impressive by the week.
Tony Docherty’s team are finding their rhythm as the season progresses and that might be perfectly timed for a cup run and a top six finish.
United will be slight favourites on league position alone, and with their narrow league win at Dens on January 2 fresh in the memory, the short trip up Tannadice Street will hold no fear.
It’s a long time since both teams, who are very closely matched, enjoyed such good form and positive coverage at the same time, which is great for football in the city.
Another sell-out crowd will testify to the appetite for football in Dundee, which is in a very positive place, as both clubs continue to prosper under bosses who are putting the city clubs firmly in the national spotlight.
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