Motherwell 1-3 Dundee: Resurgent Dees make Well pay

Dundee's Iain Davidson (right) slides in on Motherwell's Henrik Ojamaa. Picture: SNS

DUNDEE overcame a double bereavement and an injured goalkeeper to claim a morale-boosting win and pile the misery on Motherwell.

Scorers: Motherwell - Ojamaa 62; Dundee - Clarkson 3; Harkins 30; Stewart 59

The Dark Blues shrugged off the loss of keeper Kyle Lethern, injured in the warm-up, to lead through goals from David Clarkson, Gary Harkins and Greg Stewart before Henrik Ojamaa pulled one back for the home side.

Paul Hartley, the Dens Park manager, revealed that his squad had also dealt with personal losses during the week, with two players affected by deaths in the family.

Dundee suffered a setback before the start when Letheren sustained an injury in the warm-up and Scott Bain deputised.

However, the Taysiders were apparently unperturbed, stunning their hosts with a well-worked goal in the third minute.

Jim McAlister crossed from the right for former Fir Park striker Clarkson to send a right-footed volley into the top right corner.

McAlister then had a ferocious goal-bound shot from 20 yards deflected off Keith Lasley for a corner.

Dundee continued their positive start with Greg Stewart and Clarkson linking up on the right but the latter’s cross had no takers.

Motherwell came to life on ten minutes with Henrik Ojamaa getting to the bye-line and sending in a dangerous cross.

Livewire Ojamaa then outmuscled Thomas Konrad before getting in a good shot that Scott Bain smothered.

The Steelmen were now posing a threat and only a good defensive header from Konrad stopped John Sutton from getting on the end of Lionel Ainsworth’s cross.

Motherwell appeared to have overcome their early jitters and they almost drew level when Simon Ramsden met Lasley’s cross with a powerful header which was nodded off the line by Kevin McBride.

The home side went close again when Ainsworth’s 22 yard shot was well saved by Bain.

However, McCall’s men were punished for failing to take their chances and instead it was Dundee who displayed the killer instinct to double their lead against the run of play.

Clarkson played Stewart into a great position on the right of the box and, although his effort was blocked by the keeper, Gary Harkins fired the rebound home.

Dundee began to dominate and Paul McGowan went close after exchanging passes with Paul McGinn before Clarkson found space to meet Harkins’ corner, only for Dan Twardzik to parry the effort.

The home keeper rescued his side again seconds before the break with a brilliant save from McGowan who had been played in by the increasingly influential Harkins.

Motherwell left for half-time to a chorus of jeers from the home support after some powder-puff defending and it was little surprise when they made a double substitution at the break, with Stephen McManus and Jack Leitch off for Stuart Carswell and Fraser Kerr.

The changes, though, failed to have the desired effect and Dundee were cruising on 59 minutes when Clarkson crossed for the unmarked Stewart to apply the simplest of finishes.

To their credit Motherwell refused to throw in the towel and Ojamaa, their best player on the day, saw his 22-yard shot tipped over the bar by Bain. From the resulting corner by Ainsworth, Ramsden headed on for Ojamaa who managed to force the ball home at the post.

It was scant consolation for the home side or their increasingly fractious supporters who can sense a long season ahead.

Hartley added: “We started sharply which was important after the poor run of results we’ve had. We scored two good goals and could have been further ahead at half-time.

“Scott Bain is a goalie I know well from working with him at Alloa and I had every confidence in him when Kyle was injured.”

Hartley’s Motherwell counterpart Stuart McCall admitted that his side must start defending better before they can contemplate climbing the table.

He said: “Our defending was very poor – defending is not just about tackling hard and heading strong. It’s about communication, awareness and organisation.

“We are not doing it and it’s partly due to a lack of confidence. It was psychologically damaging to lose a goal in the third minute and it boosted Dundee who have been struggling recently.

“We need something to change to get us out of this bad run and we must knuckle down and be difficult to play against.”