Damage in the Box!: DUNDEE (Dens Park)

After yesterdays excitement of a nine-goal thriller, and an evening sampling the wares in some GBG recommended Dundee pubs (Counting House, Phoenix), it was now time for part two of this weekends Scottish double as The Dark Blues of Dundee took on The Pars of Dunfermline in a (rare Sunday) first division clash.

After visiting Tannadice in November, it was a visit to very near neighbouring Dens Park, and I have to confess I much preferred this ground. It has a proper "old fashioned" feel to it and, maybe because of the surviving Archibald Leitch wooden Main stand, it reminded of my beloved Goodison Park, where of course Leitch designed the Bullens Road stand.

At the beginning of play Dundee were sitting top of the table, eight points clear of 2nd place Queen of the South, whilst Dunfermline were down in 6th spot. The Pars had been in the news recently after being expelled from the Scottish Cup for fielding a suspended player, Callum Woods, in their 7-1 thrashing of Stenhousemuir. They were already 4-0 up when he put in his appearance, but this made no odds to the SFA who booted them out. They also missed out on a big payday as Celtic were due in the next round. Their fans made their feelings known before the start of the game chanting "you can stick your Scottish Cup up your arse" and "Gordon Smith (SFA Chief Executive) is a W@nker" The Dundee fans responded with "7-1 and you fcuked it up" very childish, but very funny!

As for the game itself, well that was very a entertaining affair for the 5,201 in attendance.
Leigh Griffiths scored for Dundee with barely 2 minutes on the clock, tapping in an Eddie Malone cross. Dunfermline hit back after 10 minutes when David Graham fired home a stunning strike into the top corner from the edge of the box, giving ex-Celtic 'keeper Rab Douglas no chance. Both sides were very attack minded and had pacey front men to play on the counter. Dundee restored their lead after 16 minutes when Griffiths turned provider for Colin McMenamin to finish. Dunfermline wouldn't lay down and continued to push forward but couldn't find the equaliser.

However, just four minutes into the second half it finally arrived when Andy Kirk fired home, getting on the end of a David Graham header back across goal. Dunfermline dominated the play as Dundee seemed to go to pieces. A Nick Phinn effort crashed against the crossbar and it only seemed a matter of time before The Pars pressed home their advantage. In an all too familiar football story, it was Dundee who somehow grabbed a winner when Griffiths tapped home his second goal, after his initial effort was saved by 'keeper Greg Fleming. The result was incredibly harsh on Dunfermline, but, as Dundee will testify, when you are going for the title it is all about getting the win when you are not at your best. The Dark Blues are now 11 points clear at the top.

Another cracking game and another great weekend north of the border. Roll on, err, next week....