Monday, July 21, 2008

Dundee 0 Wolves 1, Dens Park, 20/July/08

DUNDEE were out-foxed by Wolves in the dying seconds of their pre-season friendly, with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake securing a last-gasp victory for the visitors. The Dark Blues appeared to be about to record a decent draw against the English Championship side but had to grin and bear it when the former Manchester United man netted with almost the last kick of the match. New boy Colin Cameron, making his debut against his old club, was joined in midfield by Senegalese trialist Makhtar N’Diaye (26), who had a spell at Rangers. The Midlands side used the fixture to field two distinct line-ups, playing a half each. The hosts opened up the Wolves defence on 14 minutes when Eric Paton’s deep cross from the right found Colin McMenamin at the back post, but the striker’s volley went a couple of feet past. Up at the other end, Paton crashed the ball off his own bar but ref Stephen Finnie ruled he had been fouled by frontman Sam Vokes, and play was pulled back for a free kick. The game fell flat after that but N’Diaye broke clear on 35 minutes, only for far-side assistant Jeff Banks to raise his flag, much to the disappointment of the Dundee fans. N’Diaye was clearly enjoying his run out and, when his shot was deflected on 41 minutes, it broke to Paul McHale, who had a chance to shoot but chose to cross and the danger was cleared. Paton clashed with Vokes inside the Dundee box and there was an appeal for a penalty, but the ref waved play on. Wolves’ half-time changeover wasn’t exactly smooth as, with Dundee ready to re-start, their “new” opponents were still having a training kickabout. The visitors nearly took the lead on 51 minutes when Michael Kightly was given loads of time in front of goal but could only shoot past the post. Dundee, trying to find a spark, brought on three subs with Bryan Deasley, Bob Davidson and Eddie Mearns replacing McMenamin, Mickael Antoine-Curier and N’Diaye. Antoine-Curier had picked up a leg injury. Wolves should have taken the lead on 69 minutes but, instead of bursting the net as he should have done, striker Chris Iwelumo smashed his close-range header against the post. Matt Jarvis then had a golden chance to give Wolves the lead on 81 minutes when he sneaked in at the back post but his effort went across goal and out. Iwelumo then pounced on a Jarvis corner with just two minutes remaining but the angle was too tight for the header to trouble keeper Rab Douglas. Just as the home side seemed to have held on, poor defending saw the ball fall to the feet of Ebanks-Blake, who blasted his shot home via a post to give Wolves victory.
Attendance: 2091.
Dundee: Douglas, Paton, Malone (Forsyth 75), N’Diaye (Mearns 62), Cowan, Lauchlan, McHale, Cameron (Daquin 79), McMenamin (Deasley 58), Antoine-Curier (62), Gilhaney (O’Brien 75). Subs not used: Roy.
Referee: Stephen Finnie.