Kilmarnock’s hopes of taking a valuable point on the road were shattered by Ashley Hay’s late double as Dundee claimed a dramatic 3–1 win, sending the visitors to the bottom of the table. Olivia Fitchet reports from Dens Park.
Joseph Bevan opened the scoring in the first half before Joe Hugill equalised from the penalty spot for Kilmarnock. However, Hay’s two strikes in the closing stages secured Dundee’s fifth league win of the season and strengthened their position in the upper half of the table.
Dundee entered the fixture looking to bounce back from their defeat against St Mirren, while Kilmarnock were desperate for points as they attempted to move away from the bottom end of the table. Dundee made one change to their starting line up, with Joe Wright replacing the injured Owen Bevan. Kilmarnock also made a number of changes, handing goalkeeper Nico Mantl his debut alongside Robbie Deas and Joe Hugill.
Before kick-off supporters came together for a minute’s applause in memory of Dundee legend Giorgi Nemsadze.
Dundee break the deadlock following early Kilmarnock pressure
Kilmarnock started strong, taking control of the game early on and creating several opportunities. Their attacking play caused problems for Dundee, with Tyreece John-Jules and Greg Kiltie creating an opening for Joe Hugill, who couldn’t reach on the stretch for the shot.
Dundee initially struggled to deal with Kilmarnock’s offensive pressure but gradually regained their place in the game. Both sides created chances, although neither team could find the breakthrough for the better part of the first half.
The hosts came agonisingly close to taking the lead at the 30 minute mark. After Bradley Fink’s close-range header was saved by Mantl, Fink had a chance for redemption with the rebound, which struck the post before Kilmarnock managed to clear the danger.
However, Dundee’s growing dominance was eventually rewarded in the 32nd minute. Ethan Hamilton drove forward before releasing Joseph Bevan, who cut inside onto his left foot and fired the ball past Mantl putting the Dee 1-0 up.
The goal was a testament to Dundee’s persistence after a period in which they had created chances but couldn’t find the finishing touch. They continued to threaten in the final minutes of the first half, and a corner kick found an unmarked Hamilton at the back post but his effort was sent over the crossbar.
Half-time: Dundee 1-0 Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock fight back, but Hay has the final say
Kilmarnock were able to get their foot on the gas and began to threaten early into the second half. John-Jules received the ball on the left after a tackle from Michael Schjønning-Larsen, but the shot was dragged wide of the goal.
Killie’s pressure only increased and forced Dundee goalkeeper Owen Goodman to produce a series of crucial saves, blocking Hugill’s powerful shot to keep Dundee in the lead.
In the 75th minute, Kilmarnock were awarded a penalty following a foul on George Stanger during a corner. Joe Hugill stepped up and put his previous missed chances behind him, firing beyond Goodman and into the back of the net. The equaliser brought Kilmarnock back into the game at 1-1, setting up an intense final 15 minutes.
Dundee responded positively, pushing forward in search of another goal. The home crowd thought they had found it when Hay put the ball into the net in the 79th minute, only for a VAR review to rule the goal out for handball.
This disappointment proved short-lived. In the 83rd minute, Hay rose highest to meet a cross from Alan Forrest, heading into the corner of the net for 2-1 and sending the home supporters into wild celebration.
Kilmarnock attempted to respond, but Dundee carried plenty of threat of their own and remained dangerous on the counter-attack. As four minutes of injury time were added, the visitors continued to search for another equaliser, while the hosts looked to protect their advantage.
In spite of Kilmarnock’s late surge, Dundee found the decisive goal in injury time. A goal kick from Goodman found Hay, who nodded the ball on and a mixup in the defence allowed the Dundee striker to deliver the decisive blow in the final moments, rounding the goalkeeper before finishing into the empty net to seal a 3-1 victory.
Full-time: Dundee 3-1 Kilmarnock
Dundee’s victory was built on their ability to recover from missed chances and respond to setbacks. Goodman also proved to be a crucial asset in keeping them in the game and despite being denied a goal, they continued to push forward and were rewarded with two goals from Hay late in the game.
For Kilmarnock, the defeat was a frustrating outcome after a promising start and a second-half equaliser. Mantl made several important saves during his debut, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Dundee from sealing three points in the dying embers.
The result moves Dundee within three points of third-placed Hearts, and Steven Pressley will look to build on the result next Saturday against St. Johnstone at McDairmid Park.
Kilmarnock were sent to 12th up until this Saturday, where a 2-2 draw with St. Johnstone pulled them off the bottom spot.
Post Match
Neil McCann, Kilmarnock’s manager, reflected on the game.
“Very disappointed. I felt for large spells of the game we were the better side. They’re very direct and have a lot of power. Ultimately that’s what killed us- the ball in the box.”
“In the second half we pushed and pushed and their keeper made brilliant saves so it’s a sore one. I think we all felt we were on the ascendancy… but we just didn’t do enough.”
They [the players] are angry because they felt they had enough of the game to take a point, if not all three.”
On the other hand Dundee manager Steven Pressley was unsurprisingly much happier:
“Really pleased with the result. I think the game itself very much epitomised how tight the league is. Kilmarnock gave us problems – they’re a good side. In the early part of the second half they put us under a lot of pressure.”
“The margins between nine of the teams are really fine so it took an amazing response after the penalty and the disappointment in the equaliser. This group only seem to know one way to respond and that’s in a positive manner.”
Pressley had plenty of praise for his striker at the double, Ashley Hay.
“His performance was really strong. He’s so quick and strong aerially. There was the disappointment of the goal chopped off.“
I spoke to him on Monday. He was really disappointed with the miss against St Mirren. I said that the miss is normal for a striker and there will be another hundred of those in your career, but the one thing that you must show is the courage to go back and miss again and he did that. He kept putting himself in those areas of vulnerability and he got his just reward.”
“We’ve made a positive start to the season but we are still nowhere near where we want to be”.
