Dundee strode into the next round of the CIS Cup, beating Queen of the South 3-1 at Dens Park tonight.
It may have been like old times with Sara and Caballero on the scoresheet but any similarity to the free flowing football of two seasons ago was seen only in brief glimpses of vision and passing movements that usually ended with a pass to the other side. However good such moments were they were far too infrequent and by the last 15 minutes there was some danger of the editor falling asleep.
Dundee began with Speroni in Goal; a back 4 of Mackay, Wilkie, Hutchinson and Hernandez; midfield Brady, Nemsadze and Rae, with Lovell, Caballero and Sara up front. On the bench were Langfield, Smith, Beith, Milne and Mair.
The first 5 minutes saw Queens firing 3 shots goalwards, neither of which troubled Speroni in goal.
Dundee were knocking the ball about quite nicely, there was a lot of good running off the ball and intricate passing movements, but without any cutting edge or shots at goal.
The 16th minute sees the Dark Blues take the lead and the goal when it comes is simplicity itself. When a defender loses his footing with very little pressure put on him Garry Brady collects the ball, takes it to the bye line and cuts it back for JUAN SARA to score his first goal of the current season with a tap in.
Queens reply instantly and a snap shot isn’t all that far away.
But in the 24th minute Dundee go two goals up and it’s an Argentinian double act as FABIAN CABALLERO gets on the score sheet. Rookie goalkeeper Robertson seems to lose his footing as Fab attacks a Hernandes cross only for the ball to break behind him and Fab follows up to tap home number two.
Dundee may have thought that was it, the game was over. Queen of the South had other ideas and just on the half hour mark PETER WEATHERSON sent a piledriver soaring over Speroni’s head and into the roof of the net.
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Queens have their tails up now and are fighting for every ball. Dundee know they need another goal to give them breathing space and when Juan Sara nods the ball into the net his joy is short lived as the flag’s up for offsides.
But in the 43rd minute Dundee do go 3-1 up. Garry Brady slips a neat ball to Caballero on the right. His hard, low cross is completely missed by Lovell but arriving at the feet of JUAN SARA who crashes the ball home for his own second of the evening. The new regulations that say messages on t-shirts are not allowed have put paid to the "Jesus Loves You" slogan. But kneeling in prayer with one finger pointing towards the heavens is next best. (either that or he was making rude gestures towards critics in the Bobby Cox).
Queens come close to reducing the leeway right on the stroke of half time.
Half time, 3-1 was probably about right. Dundee were the best team and looked more likely to score though the 1st Division side were giving it their best shot. (no pun intended).
The second half sees no changes in the Dundee ranks and Jonay Hernandes is first to get a shot in but the ball’s rising all the time and doesn’t trouble Robertson.
A minute later it’s Julian Speroni’s turn for heroics brilliantly tipping a strong shot onto his crossbar to keep his side two goals ahead.
The 50th minute sees Gavin Rae in action, his second chance of the game and he blasts the ball goalwards only for young Robertson to make a glorious one handed save to keep his side in the game.
A minute later Queens have a strong penalty claim turned down by Referee Rowbotham before Lovell heads home at the other end only to be ruled offsides.
Gavin Beith replaced Giorgi Nemsadze with half an hour remaining. The Dancing Georgian had suffered a knock in the first half when fouled heavily and the replacement was no more than a precaution.
Juan Sara comes so close to getting his hat trick. First he shoots over after good leading up work by Lovell. Seconds later he sees another shot cannon off the crossbar.
Still Queens refuse to lie down and live wire Mclaughlin is prominent in their isolated attacks. Speroni makes another magnificent save from point blank range only to realise the flag was up anyway and the goal would not have stood.
Steven Milne replaced Caballero for the last 15 minutes and Cab goes off to a warm reception.
The final 15 sees Dundee content to keep possession, playing the game out and retaining their two goal lead. Queens continued to fight to the end and did themselves no little credit for spirit and effort.
PERFORMANCES – GOAL – JULIAN SPERONI – Had some excellent saves to make and make them he did, palming one net bound shot on to the crossbar and stopping another at point blank range. His handling, too, was first class. DEFENCE – DAVE MACKAY – First class performance from Dave, he didn’t put a foot wrong on the night. Good overlapping and distribution he was denied a definite penalty when a rare attack saw him pushed in the box. TOM HUTCHINSON – Growing more confident by the game as he becomes accustomed to playing first team football. How good he will become no one really knows but he looks quality so far. LEE WILKIE – A bit of a stroll for Lee whose confidence seems to be so elevated these days. Has became the boss man at the back and has been in inspiring form since returning to the Dens Park family late last season. JONAY HERNANDES – Real Madrid’s B team must be quite some side if there’s many more like Jonay. A very intelligent Left Back with good vision and a left foot that was made for crossing a ball. MIDFIELD – GARRY BRADY – Disappointing. Plenty of hard work and effort but little to show for it in practical terms. Too often he overshot the target with crosses and his distribution was poor. GIORGI NEMSADZE – Not long back from injury he’s struggling now to be fit for Saturday after being fouled in the first half. Always a pleasure to watch his control and passing are top class. GAVIN RAE – Unlucky not to score on two occasions in the game, one in each half, and both brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper. His passing is still below standard at times but he grafted hard in this game and played well. ATTACK: - STEVE LOVELL – Has plenty of pace, no doubting that. But at times he seems to labour to do the simple things and little seems to come from his involvement. Still young enough to come good, though. JUAN SARA – More like the man tonight, certainly not vintage goals but two that will be very welcome, breaking a goal famine of biblical proportions. Well may he point to the Heavens in delight. His 32nd goal for Dundee. FABIAN CABALLERO – Continued to show the recent improved form that reminds us of the pre-injury Fabian. Seems to look slimmer and sharper by the week. Doubtful for Saturday due to a knock he picked up. SUB GAVIN BEITH replaced Giorgi Nemsadze with half an hour to go and did alright the time he was on. One for the future, this local lad who played his way up through the youth ranks shows lots of promise. STEVIE MILNE replaced Fabian Caballero with 15 minutes to go and though he tried hard, as always, failed to make much impact in his time on the field.