Staggies survival bid goes to the last day despite Dundee defeat
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Ross County 0-1 Dundee
Ross County’s survival bid has gone to the final day of the season – but they did themselves no favours in a 1-0 defeat against Dundee.
It looked like County may run away with things early on, as they were the only team pushing forward and looking dangerous in the process.
And in fact, they had the ball in the back of the net inside two minutes.
It has been a regular tactic for one of the Staggies’ forwards to stand in an offside position right up until an attacking set piece is taken, before darting back behind a defender, but this time it didn’t pay off.
Billy Mckay was tugged back as he attempted to break down the left wing to win a free kick, that Michael Gardyne promptly swung into the back post where Mckay applied the simple finish.
But the linesman’s flag was up, Mckay was offside, and the goal was disallowed.
It seemed to be through Marcus Fraser and Davis Keillor-Dunn down the left, or Gardyne drifting inside, that the breakthrough was most likely to come from as they put dangerous crosses into the box with nobody getting on the end of them.
And slowly but surely, County would lose some of the intensity and urgency that had defined their play, and Dundee would come back into the game.
It got to the point that the Staggies were essentially camped out in their own half, which had the double effect of forcing them to play long on the break. More often than not that only resulted in the ball coming right back at them.
But there were efforts on goal too. Kevin Holt went closest for Dundee in the first 45 minutes as he found himself in acres of space on the edge of the box with plenty of time to pick his spot, but his low effort whistled past the post.
The second half started the same way as the first with Ross County immediately going close to scoring.
Naismith went on another one of his charging runs down the wing, and this time he got a cross away form inside the box.
That took Elliot Parish in the Dundee goal out of the equation, but Davis Keillor-Dunn tried to volley it at an awkward height, and his shot was blazed over the bar.
And Dundee would make them pay just a few minutes later. A corner was taken short, and Spence’s cross was allowed time and space to bounce before Simon Murray instinctively got on the end of it to put the visitors in front.
Keillor-Dunn would have another chance to score, but this time his header was well covered by Parish.
And Dundee substitute El Bakhtaoui nearly doubled Dundee’s advantage from another corner, as he hit a volley that only just flew over the crossbar.
County’s best chance of the game would also fall to a substitute in the form of David N’Gog.
He got a little bit lucky to get the ball past his marker, but he found himself with only Parish to beat inside the box – and could only hit the side netting.
The final five minutes were the definition of a frantic finish. McGowan hit the post for Dundee, before Gardyne went down asking for a penalty only to find himself booked for diving.
Then County were caught in possession and Kamara played in Murray who was only denied a second goal by a great save from Aaron McCarey.
But the Staggies could not find a way past the Dundee defence, and when the full time whistle went Dundee were still one goal in front.
