Dundee 2 St Mirren 2: Encouraging, Entertaining Game But 2 Points Dropped
Dundee 2 St Mirren 2: Encouraging, Entertaining Game But 2 Points Dropped
A volatile and scrappy match, which was genuinely thrilling at times, certainly yielded plenty of talking points. The abject refereeing performance has garnered a lot of attention but to focus solely on Craig Napier and colleagues - as important as their decisions were - would be to ignore numerous positives and negatives St Mirren fans could take from the 90 minutes. The number of positives and negatives you took from the game naturally depends upon your own perspective. Additionally, how the season progresses for both clubs might dictate, upon reflection, whether or not this truly was a 'points dropped' draw for us.
The concern many Saints supporters, including myself, had about a possible lack of goals was made to look laughable 4 minutes in. The new signings Curtis Main and Eamonn Brophy wasted no time in proving they have found some chemistry; they combined expertly for the goal, and were regularly a thorn in the side of the Dundee defence thereafter. The below clips show the opener and some other excellent combination play between the duo that created chances:
There was a lot to like about the Main-Brophy partnership:
- They stayed close together without getting in each other's way, meaning the Dundee centre backs could not get in between to intercept the passes. It's very impressive how synchronised they were, considering how little time they've had as a pairing together.
- The directness and speed with which they attacked; with the exception of Main's slower horizontal movement to win the ball for his headed assist, every play is vertical and with real purpose.
- Both players were remarkably selfless, playing to each other's strengths to enable the other to be presented with a scoring chance. Main takes the aerial duel in the first clip (and in a carbon copy chance later on); Brophy uses his pace to drag his opponent out of his position, fashioning the space for Main to run into and have a shot in a dangerous area.
The effectiveness of the partnership might be somewhat negated against sides with a preference for 3 at the back, with the covering defender ensuring our forwards aren't able to create high-quality chances as easily. However, James McPake decided not to match us in terms of formation, meaning Ashcroft and McGhee were made to suffer.
The above chart shows how our share of possession varied as the match progressed. It was surely a source of great frustration to many that we didn't put a foot on the ball, dominate midfield, and take the edge out of a scrappy game - the nature of which unquestionably favoured the home side. There was a relatively innocuous cross by Jay Henderson in the 12th minute caught by the Dundee goalkeeper Adam Legzdins. Scott Tanser pushed up to attack the back post and support the strikers already in the box.
We were at risk of a quick counterattack and Legzdins quickly rolled the ball out to right back Christie Elliott. An impressive defensive effort from a combination of Jamie McGrath, Eamonn Brophy, Ethan Erhahon, and latterly Charles Dunne ensured the opportunity came to nothing, as the ball went out for a throw-in. However, take a look at this photo:
The amount of space in the middle of the pitch, with Charlie Adam completely unmarked, is 'sub-optimal' (to borrow a Mercedes F1 term for something rubbish).
We weren't punished on this occasion but our midfield was working too hard to recover the ball, due to both wingbacks being as far upfield. I don't know if McGrath was instructed to cover the left flank in these situations, or if it was of his own volition, but either way it is a risky strategy. Charlie Adam being completely free is a complete defensive oversight, with all 3 central midfielders sucked towards a broadly similar area. Better teams in the division are certainly capable of hurting us from this type of play.
Our weakness at defending set pieces was brutally exposed on the first goal; the second goal we conceded, however, is far more interesting tactically. To refresh your memory:
We don't appear particularly vulnerable at the beginning of the move, as Dundee hold the ball in their defensive third. Unfortunately, Erhahon couldn't quite get close enough to press Charlie Adam as he passes forward to Max Anderson, and this is where the alarm bells start to ring.
As you can see, Marcus Fraser pressing up on Anderson had the potential to create a promising attack for us. However, Anderson is press resistant: he takes two good touches into the space out on our right flank; the space is there for Jordan Marshall - who was excellent throughout - to exploit behind Jay Henderson.
This attack essentially boiled down to a 3v3 with Marshall and Henderson competing out wide, with Shaughnessy and Dunne looking to hold the fort centrally against Cummings and Sheridan respectively. A 2vs2 battle is something Jim Goodwin would certainly be looking to avoid, as we have seen already from Main/Brophy how dangerous they are, and Shaughnessy and Dunne are never really set. They appeal in vain for an offside flag which is never coming, as Henderson has dropped beyond them. The cross should be cut out but sadly it wasn't.
Our entire system hinges on the wingbacks. Jay Henderson, as you can probably infer from the previous paragraph, did not have an impressive game. His stats of 60% passing accuracy (15/25) and 13% crossing accuracy (1/8) simply aren't up to the standard required and his defensive contribution wasn't stellar either. For the second weekend running, he helped mask a poor display by winning a dubious penalty - a helpful contribution, albeit not exactly replicable as the year continues. If he holds on to the jersey, it might be a result of Richard Tait failing to shine in his cameo either.
Scott Tanser was certainly more of a threat on the opposing flank: not his finest performance for the real Saints, with his passing accuracy very low (44% - 14/32) perhaps demonstration how tough Dundee made it for us, although his stellar crossing accuracy (71% - 5/7) and duels won (9/17 won, with Henderson 5 from 18) means he definitely deserves pass marks. He was almost the hero as the recipient of a great Jamie McGrath cross:
Our attacks are at risk of becoming far too predictable, however, and once Dundee were reduced to 10 men, the limitations of our strategy were stark. Having already played their hand with substitutions earlier on, their strikers ensured Goodwin decided discretion was the better part of valour and kept all 3 centre backs, plus Alan Power, on the pitch. Easy to say in hindsight, of course, but this contributed towards us lacking any real variations in our attacking patterns of play.
There was a notable exception on the 85th minute, even though it frustratingly never materialised into a shot:
Dundee's 4-3-2 formation is clearly visible here; in practice, when it came to defending crosses anyway, it was really 7 defending the box and Sheridan and Cummings loitering further up. Marcus Fraser as the outer centre half has the space and time to advance. Our attacking central quartet (Kiltie, McGrath, Main, Dennis) are reasonably static, and therefore well-covered, until Kristian Dennis shows for the pass into feet. He gets this and quickly lays it off to RWB Richard Tait.
The beauty of this move is the run of Jamie McGrath. As he had done on several previous occasions, he shows up Charlie Adam - this time with outstanding off-the-ball movement - as he knows Dennis has destabilised Dundee earlier. Our line-breaking runs from deep were few and far between at Dens but this was exemplary. The image below demonstrates what a fantastic opportunity it created.
The defence was not best prepared and it took a desperate lunge from Ashcroft to intervene against the McGrath pass inside. The deflection ricocheted into the path of ex-Buddie Paul McGowan, meaning neither of the promisingly positioned Curtis Main or Scott Tanser could capitalise, and Kiltie couldn't regain possession on the edge of the area. Some more bravery from St Mirren, either via a formation or personnel change, could have allowed for an extra body in the box and breached an overworked, not especially formidable Dundee rearguard.
In summation, this season has the potential to be a great one. This is contingent, however, on turning matches which, in years gone by, would have been draws or defeats into victories. Yesterday was a failure to do so in a match easier than those we shall face in August. Despite this, some positives can be taken from a difficult encounter which proved to be very intense and physical. The foul and card counts were both high, and the 'passes per defensive action' metric (PPDA) insanely high for both - we averaged 4.52 PPDA and Dundee were 6.91. The frenetic thriller of this weekends shows it may take time for the season to settle down. Keep the faith.
Thanks very much for reading. COYS!
Lewis
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