IAN MURRAY, the Dumbarton manager, made a withering assessment of the unlikely star of Saturday afternoon.

"I thought the referee, as usual, had a very good game," he said, bluntly. He spoke, of course, with the straightest of grim faces, but no one doubted the dark nature of his thoughts. Already serving a three-match touchline ban, Murray had no desire to seek further punishment.

It had been a bizarre performance by Barry Cook, one which left the home fans enraged. At the end of the match, the most vociferous waited for him to walk up the tunnel; they bayed and howled as he left the pitch, walking a gauntlet of derision.

Few could argue, though, that Dundee were worthy of their victory. Once Colin Nish was sent off early in the second half - leaving the home attack blunted, writhing desperately like a snake with its head cut off - the visitors asserted their superiority, dancing forward at will, creating chances, thrusting into Dumbarton's wounded flanks time and time again.

"With the wind behind us we managed to pin them back," said John Brown, the Dundee manager. "After Nish was sent off . . . it's hard when you're chasing the ball."

For long stretches in the first half it was a battle of attrition. The odd under-hit pass-back drew a gasp. Weak punches found prowling, but toothless, attackers. The offside flag was raised more often than not.

There was a moment of amusement. The crowd, dulled by the monotony of a sparse opening, had fallen silent. A decision - to award a goal kick - went against Peter MacDonald, and his high-pitched shriek of frustration was the subject of much mirth from the home fans, who then wailed and squealed whenever the forward touched the ball.

The pantomime was to continue in the second half. Nish moaned to the referee, pulling up his shirt to show the wound of some biting challenge. "Awwww . . ." sighed the visiting fans to the poor Dumbarton striker.

By that point Dundee were already ahead. Craig Beattie had won an innocuous free-kick on the edge of the area - Scott Smith was penalised for a nudge - and MacDonald's curling shot took a deflection and spun past the helpless Jamie Ewings.

Then came the turning point: it looked like a faint coming together, but Nish received his second booking for fouling Iain Davidson and the game was changed irrevocably. A late MacDonald penalty and a Garry Fleming consolation capped things off, but Dundee's second goal had been special. Ryan Conroy received the ball outside the area and rasped it across goal, watching as it dipped into the top-right corner. "I would have got a bit of stick if it didn't go in because Matty [Lockwood] was outside of me," grinned Conroy. "But it flew into the top corner and I'm happy with that, aye."