Dundee 2
Aberdeen 0
The rehabilitation of James Duffy has, for whatever reason, been one of Scottish football's best-kept secrets. While other managers, from Craig Levein to Ian McCall, have been lauded for their achievements, the work Duffy has done at Dens Park since his return to the fold last summer has gone practically unnoticed, yet the way in which he has re-invented himself following his dismissal by Hibernian five years ago this month is remarkable.
Many men who have been ushered out in similar circumstances have never returned to the sharp end - a selection from the last decade throws up names such as Willie Miller, Billy Kirkwood, Roy Aitken, Liam Brady, and John Barnes - yet Duffy swallowed his disappointment and set about learning (in some cases, re-learning) more about his profession.
Three years with Chelsea as youth coach was followed by a brief, but instructive, spell as assistant-manager of Ports-mouth.
All the while, though, he was yearning for another opportunity to utilise that hard-won experience, and the demise of Ivano Bonetti opened the door for a return to the club he had served with distinction as player and manager. It was a move not greeted with universal approval by Dundee's supporters, but they have been won over by Duffy's enthusiasm, intelligence, and commitment. He has added steel and structure to Bonetti's off-the-cuff XI and bringing top scorer Steve Lovell from Fratton Park has only increased his popularity on Tayside.
This comfortable win over Aberdeen, who had previously viewed visits to Dens with the same glee with which Vikings anticipated their raids on these shores, provided further confirmation that Duffy is back in business.
Playing percentage football with style is almost a contradiction in terms, but the home side managed it, producing a composed, controlled performance which deserved more goals. Central to their success, quite literally, was Giorgi Nemsadze. The Georgian can have had few more productive outings since coming to Scotland from Dinamo Tbilisi three years ago.
His speed of thought more than compensates for a lack of searing pace, and he was always at least one move ahead of the plodders in red shirts, regularly sending opponents for the messages with a drop of his shoulder while sending the ball to a team-mate heading in the opposite direction. He directed proceedings with the flair of Martin Scorcese: Aberdeen's efforts, by contrast, were worthy of an Alan Smithee.
''He reminds me of Robert Prosinecki, who used to pull the strings for Portsmouth,'' said Lovell. ''They're world-class players although I would say Georgi has the edge. He's always doing special things.''
So overwhelming was Dun-dee's superiority, indeed, that this at times resembled a training exercise. It was a text book example of how to suck opponents upfield and then punish them on the break.
It would be wrong to focus on the visitors' shortcomings - it would also take too long. Suffice to say they were inferior to their hosts in every department, and that their top man was goalkeeper David Preece.
It was another steep incline in Steve Paterson's learning curve, although the main reason the Pittodrie manager chose not to be too harsh on his players was the realisation that he had contributed to their downfall with a tactical error which put the gaffe in gaffer.
His decision to go man-for-man at the back with Dundee's front three allowed Nemsadze and his assistants to capitalise on the pace and intelligent movement of the strikers.
It was a blunder which was not rectified until half-time, by which stage Dundee were two up and Eric Doloumeaux had been substituted in order to prevent him picking up a second yellow card. Withdrawing Michael Hart into a back four after the interval was the right move at the wrong time, it should have happened half-an-hour earlier.
Gavin Rae and Caballero combined on the left to send Lovell clear for the opening goal, which he claimed in style by dinking it over the advancing Preece. The clincher came when Nemsadze's through ball sprung Aberdeen's offside trap, Novo outstripped Doloumeaux and Preece again found himself grasping fresh air.
While Julian Speroni produced the save of the season to claw away Doloumeaux's deflected free-kick, Dundee should have scored five before the break. ''I played three at the back because it had worked well for us in our two previous games,'' said Paterson. ''But I had to change it.''
As for Duffy, ''formidable'' and ''exceptional'' were just two of the words he used to describe his team's display. They could be applied to the man himself.
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