Cove Rangers picked up a vital point in their bid to stay in the Championship after drawing 0-0 with Dundee at Dens Park.
The point gained moves the Aberdeen side onto 31 points and up to ninth, one point clear of Hamilton Accies, with only one game remaining for both sides this season, while they are two behind Arbroath, who play Partick Thistle on Saturday.
The draw with Dundee means Cove could still finish in eighth spot if they beat Greenock Morton next Friday and Arbroath lose their final two games.
At Dens, the visitors clearly had a game plan and it worked, as Cove frustrated Dundee by any means necessary for the entirety of the match, while putting in a good defensive shift to deny the Dark Blues.
Cove out to frustrate Dee at Dens
Paul Hartley made two changes from last weekend’s 1-o win over Arbroath as Gayfield goal-scorer Morgyn Neill came into the starting XI, as did Shay Logan, for Michael O’Halloran and Leighton McIntosh.
It was the home side who went close first when Luke McCowan nicked the ball back in Dundee’s half and drove forward, taking his team with him, into the final third.
McCowan linked up well with Alex Jakubiak, who squared the ball across the face of goal but the incoming Zach Robinson could only slice his effort wide of the post.
Cove registered their first shot of the game 20 minutes into the first half, but Jackson Longridge’s off-target effort never looked like troubling Adam Legzdins.
The Dundee crowd thought their side had gone ahead when McCowan sent an inviting cross into the box where Lee Ashcroft rose highest, but his header dropped onto the roof of the net.
Lyall Cameron did well to weave his way through the Cove backline but a good clearance from Neill thwarted the attack.
There was a glimpse of what strike-partners Robinson and Jakubiak can offer, after a lull in play mostly due to Cove’s frustration tactics, as the latter played through his team-mate, but Neill did well to clear his lines again.
With an injury list almost as long as their team-sheet, Hartley’s woes got worse at Dens as the first half came to an end, as Longridge hobbled off. He was replaced by Cieran Dunne.
Dundee’s Barry Maguire was shown a yellow for hauling down Mitch Megginson when the Cove skipper tried to reach a long forward pass and hit the home side on the break.
In injury time, centre back Maguire got involved in Dundee’s attack, but saw his tame effort easily collected by Scott Fox in the Cove goal, as it remained goalless at the interval.
An unglamorous display earns Cove a point
The second half started as much of the first played out, with Fox riling up the Dens Park crowd by slowing down play at every opportunity, while the players in front of him continued to defend resolutely.
Dundee would’ve went 1-0 up if had not been from a fantastic stop from Mark Reynolds as he denied Maguire from scoring a certain tap-in on 52 minutes.
The home side looked much more fired up and had another glorious chance to take the lead as Josh Mulligan pulled the ball back from the byline to find Robinson, but from close-range, the forward blasted his effort over the bar.
Cameron was trying to fire up the Dens crowd after winning a corner, and the game continued to be one-sided stuff, but rarely did Dundee truly trouble goalkeeper Fox.
It took Dundee until the final ten minutes to hit another shot on target, with McCowan’s header from close-range well-saved by an alert Fox.
At the death, the Cove goalkeeper made a phenomenal reaction save to push Cameron’s long-range effort over the bar – and from the subsequent set-piece, Dundee hit the post.
It wasn’t a pretty performance from Cove, but Hartley’s men gave their all and secured themselves a valuable point in their penultimate Championship fixture.
Player ratings
DUNDEE (4-4-2) Legzdins 6; Mulligan 6, Sweeney 6, Ashcroft 6, Marshall, McCowan 7 (Clampin 87), Maguire 7 (Williamson 87), Cameron 6, Hannant 6 (McMullan 71), Jakubiak 6 (Thomas 71), Robinson 5
Subs not used: Lawlor, Kerr, Byrne, Fisher, Reedy
COVE RANGERS (5-4-1) Fox 6; Naismith, Ross 7, Neill 7, Reynolds 7, Logan 7, Vigurs 6 (Glass 70), Scully 6, Longridge 5 (Dunne 43), Longstaff 6, Megginson 6 (Weston 82)
Subs not used: Gourlay, Bangala
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