Dundee 1 Motherwell 2: Higdon at the double as hosts tumble to bottom of league

Monday 17 September 2012

WE MAY only be six weeks into the season, but already the Dundee bandwagon is beginning to show signs of wear and tear.

Michael Higdon celebrates his first goal on Saturday

Custom byline text:

Scott Mullen

Their course for this campaign may have changed due to circumstances outwith their control, namely them being catapulted into the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on a few weeks' notice, but they have yet to find second gear.

Barry Smith, the increasingly-frustrated Dundee manager, can look to last season's relegation fodder, Dunfermline Athletic, as a warning sign. Much was expected of Jim McIntyre's side after a five-year absence from the top division, but five was also the number of wins they amassed during their brief return. With his side already propping up the table on four points, Smith will be hoping his side don't follow a similar path.On Saturday there was much to be positive about as Dundee started stronger than their in-form opponents. For prolonged periods Stuart McCall's Motherwell side were left bedraggled, bullied and bewildered as they failed to cope with the aerial threat of Colin Nish, who powered his way through the visiting defence to score his first goal for the Dens Park club.Skip forward 45 minutes, a host of criminal defensive lapses and two conceded goals later, and Dundee's mission to avoid finishing bottom of the league seemed that much more steep. "We're six games into the season now and we're still making mistakes so we're going to have to do something," bemoaned Neil McGregor, the Dundee defender. "It's a lack of concentration – the second goal was a free header."After the first half we shot ourselves in the foot. It's two bad goals we have lost from a set piece and a long ball, but that's the Premier League for you. We've got to get on with the job in hand. We've got Celtic next week which is about as tough as it gets, so we need to lift ourselves. It's a big game every week for us considering we were preparing ourselves for life in the first division. All we can hope is that we start picking up points."On a day when Dundee should have been playing Raith Rovers in Fife, they were instead taught a harsh lesson in finishing from Motherwell and Michael Higdon in particular. The Liverpudlian made it five goals in two games with a double on Saturday, ghosting in unmarked into the hosts' penalty box to finish calmly on both occasions – no mean feat when you are 6ft 2in, 11st 10lb and built like the proverbial brick convenience. His tally for the season has risen to five, making Higdon the league's leading scorer.The 29-year-old has been a bit of a love-hate figure since he joined from St Mirren last summer, but it was his intervention, as well as the impact of substitute Henrik Ojamaa, that turned a lethargic team performance into one of individual class that ultimately made the difference."Higgy is a good finisher, he does that in training and you just need to look at some of the goals he has scored over the last few seasons," said Tom Hateley, the Motherwell full-back who delivered the corner for Higdon's second. "If you put it in the right area, the chances are he will finish it. If we are technically not at the top of our game, you just need to work hard and we have the guys up front who can get you goals."McCall was quick to play down his side's lofty position, but there is undeniably a resolve that his team has the ability to dig deep. This will be key if they are to take on the responsibility, and hopes, of the rest of the division and make a sustained attempt to at least make Celtic's defence of the title something more than a formality. "We're glad with the result," admitted Hateley, "but I don't think the gaffer will be too pleased with the performance in the first half. We just need to keep progressing. I'll take playing rubbish and winning every week."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Dundee 1 Motherwell 2: Higdon at the double as hosts tumble to bottom of league

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED