A MOMENT IN HISTORY

Dundee earn first league win at Caley

DUNDEE made history when they registered their first-ever league win at Caledonian Stadium.

Paul McMullan’s 26th-minute strike was worthy of winning any match, the way he bent his shot into the top right corner of the net from a tight angle 25 yards out.

‘It was a wonderful goal,’ declared Gary Bowyer, the Dundee manager. ‘He’s been on a tremendous run of form after we challenged him to score more goals and today he stepped up and delivered.’

McMullan’s strike extended Caley Thistle’s winless run to seven matches in the Championship and dealt a further blow to their promotion hopes.

They remain in sixth spot in the title race and trail leaders Ayr United by nine points and Dundee by eight.

But, given their crippling run of injuries, the Caley Thistle players were entitled to feel some pride in their performance after manager Billy Dodds was left with the task of picking a team minus no fewer than nine first-team players.

Indeed, the home side were worth something for their efforts against a Dundee outfit who are now undefeated in eight in the league.

But they lacked the necessary cutting edge to salvage at least a point from an absorbing encounter full of effort and commitment.

Dodds was also entitled to be frustrated by the manner of the match-winning goal after McMullan was able to play himself into shooting range without being challenged.

The defence was incredibly static when McMullan hit his shot, almost as if they had suffered some sort of momentary paralysis.

Even McMullan must have been slightly surprised to see his effort hit the top corner without the goalkeeper or a single defender moving.

But if the home fans feared an immediate collapse they must have been heartened by their team’s positive reaction to going behind.

Only a superbly-timed block by Tyler French denied them an equaliser almost on the stroke of half-time when Aaron Doran delivered a cross from the right aimed for George Oakley’s head.

Oakley was poised to make contact and guide the ball into the net from close range until French intervened to cut out the obvious danger.

Doran offered a further reminder of his potential when he cranked up a decent effort from distance midway through the second half that was close enough to the target to earn a round of applause. In truth there was not a great deal between the sides, with Dodds bemoaning the lack of an extra bit of quality.

But he was also quick to praise the effort and commitment of his depleted squad, adding with some justification that his team deserved some reward.

‘We gave so much to the game,’ declared Dodds. ‘Their goalkeeper came off saying we are the best team they’ve played all season and that’s with us missing bodies so we’ll take heart from that. We certainly played some nice football.

‘The players gave so much but we were missing that bit of quality and we were punished again from a mistake when we could have retained possession.

‘I can’t say we lacked confidence and had we scored first we might have gone on to win. But all credit to Dundee, they managed it well.

‘But when we get bodies back, we can go on a wee run ourselves and I’m sure we can reel a few teams in.’

Bowyer added: ‘It was a hardfought win but we always knew it would be that type of game as this league is one of the toughest.

‘We didn’t play particularly well. But I was pleased with our mentality and the way we dug in. The way we managed the game at the end was also really impressive.’