Dundee lost their last friendly of the summer as the Toffeemen of Everton proved to be sticky opposition for them.
What really matters, though, is how they perform in the Premiership opener against Kilmarnock on Saturday and there were some positives for manager Paul Hartley to take down to Rugby Park.
It was a worthwhile workout for the Dark Blues and, let’s be honest, there will be no one near the calibre of England playmaker Ross Barkley down in Ayrshire.
The visitors, who were backed by a sizeable travelling support, also fielded Scotland’s Stevie Naismith, Romelu Lukaku of Belgium and the English trio of John Stones, Tom Cleverley and Leighton Baines.
The teams were piped on to the park to the tune of Up Wi’ The Bonnets and then the action got under way.
With just a minute gone, Everton took the lead when 22-year-old frontman Conor McAleny lashed the ball into the home net from the edge of the box.
It was a stunning start for the Barclays Premier League side then, on seven minutes, a Barkley freekick from just outside the area was tipped over the bar by home keeper Scott Bain after Naismith had been brought down by Julen Etxabeguren as he raced towards goal.
In a competitive match Etxabeguren would have been sent off but referee Craig Thomson upset no one by letting him away with it this time.
With 12 minutes gone, the hosts almost levelled when Nick Ross let fly with a shot that Goodison goalie Joel Robles had to push away.
A slack pass into his own box on 21 minutes from Naismith almost gifted Dundee a goal. The ball made its way to Luka Tankulic and he smacked his shot off the bar.
After a display of keepie-up from Dens skipper Gary Harkins, Etxabeguren headed wide before Everton’s Lukaku limped off injured. His replacement, Kieran Dowell, almost scored just a minute after coming on, with Bain doing well to get a hand to the strike.
The home team, who made five changes at the break, almost fell two behind on 55 minutes as Cleverley curled a shot just beyond the far post.
However, it was 2-0 on 59 minutes as Barkley slotted home a penalty after he was brought down by Dundee substitute Gary Irvine. He sent another sub, keeper David Mitchell, the wrong way with his kick.
Naismith almost made it three on 71 minutes following a sweeping move then Mitchell did brilliantly to keep out a drive from Kevin Mirallas with six minutes to go.
Attendance: 4,763.
Dundee: Bain (Mitchell 46), McGinn (Irvine 46), Konrad (Holt 46), Etxabeguren (McPake 46), Meggatt, Ferry (Colquhoun 56), Harkins (Kerr 68), Ross (Black 72), Tankulic (Carreiro 75), Loy (Roberts 68), Hemmings (Stewart 46).
Everton: Robles, Baines (Pennington 46), Stones (Galloway 70), Lukaku (Dowell 32), Naismith, Cleverley, McCarthy (Ledson 80), Barkley, Coleman (Oviedo 46), Browning (Robinson 89), McAleny (Mirallas 70). Subs not used: Stanek.
Referee: Craig Thomson.