Ten-man Dundee held on for a point in a drab 0-0 Scottish Premier League
encounter with fellow strugglers Kilmarnock.
A paltry crowd of just over 4,000 had little to cheer them on a freezing cold
night at Dens Park.
Both sides struggled to play any decent football and goalmouth incidents were
scarce.
The major talking point was Dundee midfielder Nicky Banger's sending off in
the 52nd minute for a second yellow card.
Banger, dismissed on his debut against Motherwell earlier in the season, again
received his marching orders when referee John Fleming ruled that he had dived
having been booked in the first half for handball.
Kilmarnock were slightly the better side throughout and will be aggrieved they
could not take advantage of the extra man they had for most of the second half.
Both teams made a sluggish start to the game but it was the visitors who had
the first attempt on goal.
Following their first corner in the sixth minute the ball broke to the edge of
the box to Kilmarnock midfielder Mark Reilly, who steadied himself but blasted
the ball harmlessly over the bar.
As the game settled down it was the visitors who were playing the slightly
better football with Frenchman Christophe Cocard showing nice flashes of skill.
In the 17th minute Dundee could have scored when they broke clear with four
attackers facing only two Kilmarnock defenders, but to the home crowd's disgust
striker Eddie Annand was foolishly caught offside.
On the half-hour mark the visitors forced a couple of corners in quick
succession but the Dundee defence easily cleared.
There was little for the crowd to get excited about as there were few
clear-cut chances created, although the visitors remained slightly the better
team.
With three minutes to go before half-time Kilmarnock nearly took the lead when
a Martin Baker header was cleared off the line.
The visitors claimed the ball had in fact gone over but referee Fleming looked
at his assistant and waved play on.
Right on the half-time whistle there was a flurry of excitement when a Cocard
free-kick was saved by Dundee keeper Rab Douglas.
It was Kilmarnock who started the second half the brighter and within a minute
they had two attempts on goal.
First a Cocard shot was blocked by Craig Ireland for a corner and when the
ball came over the Frenchman's header was saved by keeper Douglas.
Kilmarnock went close in the 50th minute when a Gary Holt shot was pushed over
the bar by Douglas.
But there was a sensation a minute later when Banger was sent off for the
second time as a Dundee player.
Banger, already booked for handball in the first half, received his second
yellow for diving.
The Dundee players surrounded the referee but the official refused to change
his mind and Banger was led away shaking his head in disbelief.
This seemed to spark Dundee into life and Annand should have scored in the
56th minute but his shot from 12 yards was saved by Kilmarnock keeper Colin
Meldrum.
The game was now certainly more lively than the first half, although clear-cut
openings were still few and far between.
In the 77th minute Kilmarnock came close again when midfielder Ian Durrant's
shot went narrowly past Dundee's far post with Douglas stranded.
Both teams continued to look for the elusive opening but in the end the
freezing crowd were sent home goalless.
Teams:
Dundee: Douglas, Tweed, Smith, Ireland, Boyack (Billio 89), Rae, Wilkie, McSkimming, Banger, Falconer (Bayne 77), Annand.
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Sharp, Van Eijs.
Sent Off: Banger (52).
Booked: Banger.
Kilmarnock: Meldrum, MacPherson, Dindeleux, Hessey, Baker, Holt, Mahood (Jeffrey 80), Reilly, Durrant,Cocard (McKinlay 77), Smith.
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Bagan, Canero.
Att: 4,039
Ref: John Fleming (Scotland).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook