With Tom Hutchinson and Giorgi Nemsadze out through injury the strength of the pool was clearly seen with young Lee Mair coming in at Centre Half. Strangest of all was top goalscorer of the last two seasons Juan Sara stepping into the right of midfield position, Garry Brady on the left and Gavin Rae dropped to the bench.
Partick had a good spell in the first 10 minutes without really threatening the Dundee defence. It took that long for Dundee to begin to create chances but once they did they found their route to goal more consistently. A delightful Novo run and cross gave Steve Lovell a chance but he heads over the bar. 3 minutes later another great move starting with a great pass by Barry Smith to Jonay Hernandez on the left. His sweet left foot cross is met by the head of Fabian Caballero who again fails to find the target under pressure.
With 25 minutes on the clock Nacho Novo, a major jag in the side of the Partick defence, hits the crossbar with a tremendous shot. The ball bobbles about on the line before any dark blue attacker can follow up. One minute later wee Nacho is at it again, teasing and tantalising the Thistle defence before shooting narrowly wide of the far post.
35 minutes gone and big Lee Wilkie goes on an amazing run from the half way line. He carries on into the box before slotting a fine pass out wide to Nacho Novo. Again his luck is out as the wee man cuts inside his man and fires just past that same far post.
Dundee take the lead 5 minutes from the break. Novo back heels the perfect pass inside to Barry Smith in space. The Skipper is upended as he races towards the box. GARRY BRADY runs up and fires in a superb free kick that gives Goalkeeper Arthur no chance and this is Garry's first goal for Dundee since arriving on a short term contract at the start of this season.
Just on half time Juan Sara sees a goal bound shot cleared off the line as Dundee chase goal number 2.
An excellent first half performance by Dundee who really should have been more than one goal ahead at the break. A great ovation greets the half time whistle.
The second half sees Partick come out with sleeves rolled up, determined to get back into the game. They are forced to come out of their tight defensive formation and attack more often. This leaves gaps at the back which Dundee exploited to perfection.
10 minutes into the second half Dundee go 2-0 up and once again it comes from a free-kick. JUAN SARA who had played brilliantly in midfield, was brought down outside the box. Fabian Caballero curls a rocket, low free kick goalwards and big Juan performs a neat back heel flick to force the ball past Arthur.
65 minutes gone and Dundee go 3 up. They had soaked up a lot of strong pressure from Partick, which was to be expected, but always looked likely to score on the break. Brady to Caballero, and when Fabian sidesteps the ball and fools his marker before sending Hernandez racing into the box the Spanish full back's cross is met perfectly by the head of STEVE LOVELL who nets easily.
Partick continue to try to make a game of it and they are battling bravely despite the scoreline. When a low cross ball is met by ex Dundee player GERRY BRITTON it's a goal all the way and the score is now 3-1.
But Dundee set the seal on a fine victory, the first by any Dundee team over Partick this season. Nacho Novo wins a ball he really had no right to win out on the right, outfoxes his marker before sending the overlapping Dave Mackay racing towards the bye line. His hard, low cross is missed by Caballero but behind him STEVEN LOVELL is on the spot to crash an unsaveable shot past the keeper to make him Dundee's top goalscorer for the season.
Novo comes oh, so close to getting the goal he richly deserved. First he weaves past several players and appears to be tripped inside the box but Hugh Dallas waves play on. A minute later the same player takes a great pass from Sara and Arthur pulls off a magnificent one handed save to keep the diminutive livewire out.
Rae replaces Sara, Milne comes on for the weary Novo and young Forbes comes on for Caballero.
Dundee run out very comfortable winners and move ahead of Hearts on goal average and deservedly take 5th spot in the league. With Kille away and Motherwell at home to come Dundee must, if they play like this, have a chance of at least 4 points from these fixtures.
When the final whistle blows enter Man of the Match the smallerst player on the park, Nacho Novo. Racing towards the Dens Road support he throws his top into their midst in true Nacho fashion. And how the fans just love him.
PLAYERS' RATING: GOAL JULIAN SPERONI - Not many shots to save but came off his line well and was competent as ever. BACK 4: RIGHT DAVE MACKAY - A much better player than last season, Dave is maturing by the month, and is now overlapping like a veteran. CENTRAL DEFENCE LEE WILKIE - Looked every inch an internationalist, a great performance by the big man. He has subtle skills that a lot don't give him credit for and he had more than a few mazy runs and saw one header cleared off the line. CENTRAL DEFENCE LEE MAIR - The youngster played well alongside Lee, took little chances and cleared his lines well. Has proved himself quite some utility player when injuries allow him into the team. LEFT JONAY HERNANDEZ - He's a risk taker, at times gets caught further upfield than he'd like when the opposition break. But he showed delightful touch football and his cool head and sweet left foot cross balls are a delight to watch. MIDFIELD: RIGHT JUAN SARA - A real eye opener, big Juan was excellent and got a standing ovation when taken off near the end. Scored a cheeky goal, showed the t-shirt, looked skywards and thanked his God. Is theis the beginning of his comeback? CENTRE BARRY SMITH - Excellent. Barry adds the bite and strength that used to be missing in last season's midfield. As he gets more used to the position he seems to be becoming more aware of players in space and he showed some good passing and vision tonight. LEFT GARRY BRADY - My advice to JD is get this guy on a longer contract. He struggled at first but now he's got the pace of the Scottish game right he looks a quality performer. Hard working and skillful he scored his first goal and never stopped grafting. Excellent performance. ATTACK: RIGHT NACHO NOVO - A wee man who wears his heart on his sleeve, always first to react to autograph hunters, always first to urge the fans to get behind the team, always first to kiss the badge. Personally speaking he's the best prospect I've seen in a dark blue jersey for many a season. Once he starts finding the target to go with the amazing leading up play, what a player, what passion for the game. When subbied I found myself staring at him in the dugout and missing some of the game. The kind of player you'd gladly pay double to see in action. FABIAN CABALLERO - Was behind most of Dundee's promising moves. Took some savage treatment and was singled out for special attention for most of the game. But he came through it all with great distinction. STEVEN LOVELL - I admit to a grave mistake. I didn't rate Steve when first I saw him in action. Now, I rate him with the greatest of respect. Nothing flashy, little flair, but so fast and so hard working, and two splendid goals. SUBS: STEVIE MILNE - Did well in his short time on and if Partick were growing weary with the constant pounding of their goal they must have been sickened to see Steve running at them so late in the game with a fresh pair of legs. GAVIN RAE - Leaving him out will surely shake Gav up as some games he has failed to perform to his full capabilities. This will do him no harm at all and I think we'll see much better from Gav from now on. BARRY FORBES - Only a kid, he's had a few bits of games in the past and has been excelling in Under-21 games. One for the future, he's fast down that left flank and very skillful.