ISN'T a city's derby supposed to be a spectacle enjoyed by two of its clubs?

Dundee's showpiece fixture deteriorated into an event in which one of them is ritually abused. It is more than ten years since Dundee beat Dundee United and the inequality was confirmed and updated in another sorrowful going-over at a jubilant, gloating Tannadice. The immediate sting of losing heavily to their rivals - and making horrible history by conceding six goals to them for the first time - gave way to growing anxiety for Dundee. They concede too many goals and could yet be sucked into real relegation trouble.

Dundee have some comfort in terms of a points advantage over those at the bottom of the Premiership but Hibs' freefall last season is a sobering rebuke to complacency. Dundee's statistics are growing dire: seven league games without a win and only one clean sheet in their last 15 matches. They are ten points above the play-off position, which could be eroded in a matter of weeks. They actually had spells of gutsy, stodgy pressure at Tannadice which only proved that United ran riot without consistently delivering the pyrotechnics of which they are capable. United scored a couple of lovely goals which would have graced any derby since Granpaw Broon was a bairn. Gary Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong and Chris Erskine showed rapier speed and penetration at times but the rampage game in spurts and there was the curiosity of the excellent Nadir Ciftci not managing to score a goal. That did not deny them the pleasure of being the first United side ever to score six past Dundee in a century of competitive derbies.

At the heart of this all was a goalkeeper called Arvid Schenk. He wouldn't have played at all if Kyle Letheren hadn't injured himself during the warm-up and brutally it must be said that he might not be seen again. With the usual deputy, Scott Bain, also unavailable the 25-year-old German was called up for his debut. In the distribution of sympathy which had to be distributed primarily to the Dundee supporters, some had to be reserved for poor Schenk. He was thrown in behind a back four which can't protect any of their goalkeepers and before long he looked a bag of nerves who was drawing comedy, ironic cheers on the occasions when he pulled off some second half saves. Every time he had the ball at his feet, the United fans roared as if they were watching a toddler trying to control a carrier bag in the wind. United started shooting at him from all distances.

Dundee's nightmare had an appropriately shocking start. When the teams came out one smoke bomb was let off by United fans in the Eddie Thompson Stand and another was thrown into the goalmouth - the police will act on those - and the smoke from them was still swirling around by the team their team had taken the lead at the other end of the ground. United attacked from kick-off and Erskine's cross took a big deflection into the net off Armstrong. Stopwatches showed just 31 seconds. Dundee battled into the game. They lacked quality at both ends of the pitch, but they grafted and deservedly equalised when Greg Stewart, playing for the first time in a month, swept a majestic free-kick into the far corner. The huge Dundee support, almost 5000 of the poor souls, didn't realise that that was as good as it was going to get.

Mackay-Steven's goal was the best of the game, an outstanding strike from way out on the right wing which roared inside the far top corner. That restored United's lead and when Conor Townsend's cross was dreadfully defended it came all the way to Erskine to smash a finish which deflected off Thomas Konrad past Schenk for 3-1. Mackay-Steven got the fourth, too, by taking Armstrong's classy through ball to bury a confident finish just before half-time. In the second half Mackay-Steven's corner was met by Jaroslaw Fojut's downward header for the fifth. Schenk's positioning was poor and his dive was slow and ineffective but where was James McPake's challenge on Fojut? Substitute Charlie Telfer was given far too much room to place a nice shot in the far corner for six. Dundee were gone by then, their confidence shot to pieces. Precious few of their fans were still around to see Luka Tankulic goal for them in the 90th minute.

Schenk's Dundee career suffered a live autopsy but United's first and third goals took deflections and the second was exceptional. The fourth couldn't be blamed on the goalkeeper either, meaning he was partly culpable only for the fifth and sixth. Dundee's problem is not the strength or otherwise of a third-choice goalkeeper drafted in at the last minute. Their shortcomings are more widespread than that: too few goals being scored, over-reliance on David Clarkson, and a lack of quality in the defensive positions. They are a team which is aware of its problems and belief has drained away. Bad enough that United keep capitalising on that - this was their third derby win of the season - but Dundee are heading for trouble while everyone else does too.