Latest From Dens.

Friday: Dundee are to allow frontman Craig O’Reilly to leave Dens Park.The 19-year-old former Raith Rovers striker, who has a year left on his contract, has spent the season on loan to East Fife. Craig is available for a nominal fee,and lower division clubs have been notified.Dundee will be without suspended defender Gary Smith for tomorrow’s final game of the campaign at Clyde but that opens the door for skipper Gary McKenzie to return. Also set for a place in the starting line-up, after completing his one-match ban, is Alex Rae.Meanwhile, former Dundee United keeper Tony Bullock has emerged as a possible signing target for the Dark Blues as they seek someone to challenge Ludovic Roy for the first-team jersey next term.
Wednesday: Good news for Dundee as goalkeeper Ludovic Roy signed a new two-year deal, also committing his future to Dens Park was young midfielder Brian Clark.Manager Alex Rae is also hopeful of adding a few more players for next season, and has arranged for a trial game to take place later this week.The club also revealed season ticket prices for 2007-08 which are:Adult season tickets for existing holders are £240 if bought before 30th June 2007. Senior citizen tickets are £115, Under 18s £90, under 12s £18 and students £94On or after 1st July 2007 Adult season tickets are £250. Senior citizen tickets are £120, Under 18s £95, under 12s £18 and students £99.If you want to retain your existing seat then you should renew before 30th June.Tickets go on sale on Tuesday May 1st 2007.

Cupar Eagles Go Down.

Eagles made a couple of changes in their final league match of the season as Beauchope and Mullen returned but Pryde was unavailable due to work commitments. Eagles knew that only a win coupled with a Kemback defeat would allow them to avoid the dreaded drop. Eagles made most of the running in the early stages and Mcluckie should have done better when he struck the ball straight at the Haz Beans keeper when clean through. Haz Beans took full advantage as they caught McGregor off guard to open the scoring and followed up with number two when Mullen was caught out of position in defence. Eagles were playing neat football in midfield without any penetrating effect but with the introduction of Marshall Eagles started to look more of a threat and when the midfield powerhouse swivelled to send Halley away to shoot home the Eagles were right back in the game. A defensive error late on by Syme made it 3-1 at the break.
Eagles re-grouped for the second half and changed to a more attacking formation to get back in the game. Unfortunately holes at the back appeared and Haz Beans scored three goals on the counter attack as another disappointing league campaign finally came to an end. Heads were low in the Eagles camp as the final whistle sounded a death knell to the Eagles survival hopes but as the Eagles motto goes "Sometimes beaten but never conquered" Cupar Eagles will be back for more starting next season.
Full time: Cupar Eagles 1 Haz Beans 6
Eagles line-up:
1. Roy McGregor
2. John Mullen
3. Mark Malcolm
4. Andrew Beauchope
5. Gregg McLuckie
6 Ally Syme
Subs:
7. Tommy Marshall
8. Colin Clive
9. Craig Halley

Dundee 1 Hamilton 0, Dens Park, 21/April/07

Dundee struggled to overcome Hamilton on Saturday but at least we won the game thanks to a controversial penalty converted by Derek Lyle earned Dundee a narrow victory over Hamilton at Dens Park. The pivotal moment came on 62 minutes when referee Crawford Allen ignored Bob Davidson's shove on Alex Neil to allow him to cross. In the scramble that followed David Elebert pulled Kevin McDonald to the ground and Lyle scored from the spot. Dundee defender Gary Smith was later dismissed for an off-the-ball incident involving David Elebert.It was good to see youngster Brian Clark make his first start for the club and he was unlucky not to score in the second half.At least it still gives us a chance to finish third but we need to beat Clyde and hope Hamilton don't win.

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Latest News From Dens.

Dundee have received a major fitness boost with the news that midfielder Paul McHale has not torn the medial ligament in his knee. McHale strained the joint in training last week and will still be out for the remaining two games of the season. It means he will be out for a matter of weeks rather than months, and should be fit for the start of preseason training. Dundee will be without player-manger Alex Rae following his dimissal at Partick Thistle last weekend. Dyron Daal has resumed training and, if he does not suffer any reaction to his knee problem, the on-loan striker will feature for the home side. Hamilton go to Dens Park clash knowing that a draw will secure third place in the First Division. Dundee have also slashed admission prices for children to just £1 as a thank you to the fans for their support.

Eagles Hit For Twelve.

Eagles were dealt a severe blow before kick-off in their penultimate league fixure versus Elevado when influential Captain Mullen failed to show up. Positive team news came about when number one goalkeeper McGregor returned from injury. Elevado pushed the ball about well in the early exchanges and took the lead despite McGregor's acrobatic dive just failing to keep the ball out. Worse was to follow when hesitancy in defence led to the second. Eagles though pushed forward and were given a lifeline when Pryde struck home after great midfield work from Halley and Malcolm. The game was in the balance at this point but sloppy defending cost Eagles dear and a fourth goal was then conceded before Halley reduced the deficit running on to a defence splitting pass from Marshall.
Into the second half Eagles made most of the running and Malcolm was very unlucky when the Elevado keeper saved four times in succession as the ball seemed to play pinball in the Elevado goal mouth. Marshall was doing a lot of powerful running down the flanks and the midfield powerhouse set up Pryde to pull a goal back. Eagles sensed a tangible reward and pushed forward in droves in search of the equaliser but this was to prove costly as gaps at the back appeared where six goals were lost before McLuckie finished well after a through ball from Syme. Elevado struck twice more in the dying minutes as the Eagles left the field once more deflated.
Full time: Cupar Eagles 4 Elevado 12
Eagles line-up:
1. Roy McGregor
2. Gregg McLuckie
3. Mark Malcolm
4. Gary Pryde
5. Craig Halley
6 Ally Syme
Subs:
7. Colin Clive
8. Tommy Marshall

Queen Park Rangers Photos

Partick Thistle 2 Dundee 1, Firhill, 14/April/07.

Partick secured their First Division status with a narrow win over 10-man Dundee who had player-coach Alex Rae sent off in the 90th minute. The Jags went in front after 17 minutes when Adam Strachan crashed the ball high into the net from 10 yards. Dundee levelled five minutes later when Derek Lyle scored his 14th goal of the season. The Jags got the winner after 53 minutes when Derek Young fired low past Ludovic Roy.

Injury Blow For McHale.

Dundee midfielder Paul McHale could be facing months on the injury list, with fears that he may have suffered medial ligament damage in his knee. What at first seemed a run-of-the-mill training incident has resulted in a serious problem for the player, who has been a key man for the Dark Blues since joining in January. McHale will be sent to see a specialist next week to discover the extent of the damage, and manager Alex Rae is hoping for a positive outcome. Meanwhile Danny Griffin should play at centre half again, he looked a much better player last week. It will be a tough game against Partick Thistle who are not safe from the drop yet.

Daal Goal Rush Won't Earn Him Dons Deal

Dyron Daal has been told his five goals in four games for Dundee are not enough to guarantee his Aberdeen future. The Dutchman was sent out on loan to Dens Park after struggling to break into the Dons side.He netted twice against Ross County at the weekend to clinch a 3-2 win for the Tayside team and has also produced a match-winning double against Airdrie United the previous weekend having scored on his debut for the Dark Blues against Queen of the South.Jimmy Calderwood is monitoring the 23-year-old striker's contribution to the Dundee cause, but is refusing to get carried away on the back of his player's goal rush.He said: "Obviously I'm getting reports on Dyron's performances and it is great to see him scoring goals for Dundee. We've had positive reports, but seemingly he could have scored 12 goals, never mind five, with the number of chances he has had."As far as next season is concerned, I haven't been able to give Dyron's situation a minute's thought."We have to get our own business out of the way in the SPL before we move on to that."Of course we have to be fair to the player and can't keep him hanging on forever."He has three games to go with Dundee between now and the end of the season and by then we will have to let him know what our plans for him are.
Team News For Firhill.
Paul McHale picked up a knee injury in training yesterday and is struggling to face Partick Thistle. Time will tell if he makes it or not. Gary McKenzie will miss the game due to suspension.

Cupar Eagles Lose On Easter Monday.

Eagles welcomed Kemback minus number one goalkeeper McGregor. Beauchope was drafted into the sticks as Eagles were forced to shuffle the pack. Kemback started brightly and after four minutes took a deserved lead when Beauchope was beaten with the ball ending up into the bottom left corner. Against a strong wind Eagles drew level when an exquisite pass by Halley freed Malcolm down the left channel and the new signing made no mistake with a clinical finish to restore parity. With the wind disrupting the Eagles free flowing football Kemback cashed in and scored another four times before the break.
Mullen took over from Beauchope in goal for the second half as a tactical switch in order to swamp the midfield and the change seemed to pay instant dividends when the deficit was reduced as Pryde tucked the ball away after fine work involving Marshall and McLuckie. Kemback were not finished and stepped up a gear in the closing stages to score another two goals to wrap at victory as the Eagles trudged of the park at the end in dismay.
Full time: Cupar Eagles 2 Kemback 7
Eagles line-up:
1. Andrew Beauchope
2. John Mullen
3. Mark Malcolm
4. Gary Pryde
5. Craig Halley
6 Ally Syme
Subs:
7. Colin Clive
8. Tommy Marshall
9. Gregg McLuckie

Dundee 3 Ross County 2, Dens Park, 07/April/07.

Paul Dixon returned to the side, and Danny Griffin played center half in place of injured Gary McKenzie. We started well and Dyron Daal scored a double as Dundee sent Ross County tumbling to the foot of the First Division table. Daal raced through to convert after 20 minutes and doubled his tally 12 minutes later when he robbed defender Andy Dowie and executed a neat finish. Sean Higgins hit back with a glorious overhead kick, only for Paul McHale to restore Dundee's two-goal advantage with an 18-yard strike.Dundee held on for the final 16 minutes when Michael Gardyne fired home. A good three points for us, pity the second half was not as good as the first.

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Dundee are set to play Millwall at Dens on the 15th of July. I'm on holiday so will miss that one.

Vic and Jim, Isle of Man 1987.

Right:Vic and Myself.









Below:Jim after a few beers!.

Latest News From Dens.

Dundee could add another foreign keeper to their books after a Slovakian trialist impressed boss Alex Rae in a closed-door game this week. The experienced performer, who the Dark Blues are not naming for the time being, did enough in the friendly against Montrose to be added to the list of possibles for next season. Not still interesting him, though, is the English midfielder who had been with Norwich and who also got a game on Tuesday. And Dundee are adopting a “wait-and-see” policy with loan striker Dyron Daal. The Dutchman’s three goals in three games since he started his loan from Aberdeen have seen the Dons hint they will probably be offering him a deal for next season after his amateur contract with them expires in the summer. There has been no concrete offer from Pittodrie, though, and the Dens men believe they still have a chance of landing the big man on a permanent deal if he continues to impress. There are no injury worries for Saturday’s home clash with struggling Ross County. Aberdeen's Jamie Winter is also on trial for a few days. (Picture Above)

Dundee 2 Airdrie 1, Dens Park, 01/April/07

Dundee put behind them a desperate first-half performance to notch their first win in four games, to say the Dark Blues were awful in the opening 45 minutes would be an understatement.But they improved sufficiently to edge out spirited Airdrie in an end-to-end second period.Dundee claimed the spoils thanks to Dyron Daal—who had enough clear-cut chances to have mustered a five-goal haul—netting twice.While that was rough on the relegation-threatened Diamonds, whose showing was worthy of the point that would have left them shy of the play-off spot only on goal difference.Airdrie’s 17th minute opener was a personal disaster for Gary McKenzie. The Dens skipper was caught in possession 25 yards out by Ian Harty and failed to react to the situation, leaving Harty to bear down on Ludovic Roy and net with a composed finish.Taking the lead was no more than the Diamonds deserved. Before netting, Harty had brought a decent save out of Ludovic Roy and David Proctor was thwarted by a timely McKenzie challenge.And they could easily have stretched that advantage with Roy having to claw a Gary Twigg shot round his post.Dundee levelled on 27 minutes, completely against the run of play, when Daal headed home Rae’s cross.Airdrie remained on top, though, and both Harty and Graeme Holmes should have done far better than blaze the ball over from terrific positions.In the early stages of the second half Stuart Taylor evaded the attentions of McKenzie to meet a Steven McDougall cross, but from a tight angle couldn’t put his header away from Roy.Dundee had an opportunity to steal a lead shortly after that when Daal found himself clean through, but he shot straight at Stephen Robertson.McKenzie’s day very nearly went from bad to worse when a Holmes cut-back rebounded off him and was destined to find his own net until Roy came to the rescue.On 56 minutes Dundee edged in front from their first corner of the game, Bob Davidson heading Gavin Swankie’s delivery back across goal for Daal to nod in.And the Dutchman could easily have added to his tally—completely missing the ball after a Smyth mistake allowed Gates’ cross to find him unmarked, then once again shooting straight at Robertson.Airdrie, who’d been denied a penalty when Gary Smith clearly shoved Taylor inside the area, had become decidedly fragile at the back.Going forward, though, they remained a real threat. Substitute Stephen McKeown might have levelled after being picked out by Twigg, but his finish failed to trouble Roy.A Twigg effort with 11 minutes remaining did test the goalie, but he responded by making a terrific save. Despite his side laying siege to the home goal in the closing minutes and being harshly treated by the outcome, Diamonds manager Kenny Black felt the defeat had been largely self-inflicted.Daal and Paul McHale were booked along with Airdrie’s Smyth, Taylor and Neil McGowan. A good three point for us but we made hard work of it. Lets hope we can win the last four game to set up next season.