Dundee

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• Dundee have beaten Motherwell for the first time in the Premiership since 27 November 2021, a run of four games without a win.

• Motherwell attempted 371 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee attempted 15 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Liam Gordon attempted 59 passes in this game, the highest total for a Motherwell player in the Premiership this season.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I'm just really delighted for the players that they got their rewards. We did a hell of a lot of work as a group particularly on keeping clean sheets and we got our rewards for that.

"I thought we won the game in the first half. It's a fantastic goal, but technically I thought our play was excellent.

"In the second half we showed the other side and dug in. To win a match like that I thought we displayed everything as a team.

"In the international break we identified that, it was obvious we hadn't kept a clean sheet. We worked and worked on the training field and analysis room.

"We made sure going into that situation again we would be strong and we stood up. The players have been criticised, and myself, for maybe capitulating [against Kilmarnock].

"But we made sure we would come back strong. There was a lot of good play as well. It was the complete performance away from home against really good side."

Dundee earned a first Scottish Premiership win in six matches as a polished performance defeated in-form Motherwell at Fir Park.

The decisive, and only, goal came in the first half when Lyall Cameron slid the ball into the bottom corner after Simon Murray's header was blocked by Ewan Wilson.

Were you at Fir Park or following the match from home?

Give us your thoughts here., external.

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

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After the late collapse in their last game against Kilmarnock, Dundee really needed this win and clean sheet, their first in the Premiership this term.

They had won only once in their last 15 league games stretching back to last season, and some promising performances have been undone by poor defending.

By the end Motherwell had gone 4-2-4 and threw the kitchen sink at them, as Killie had done two weeks ago.

They rained in crosses and tested the Dundee defence late on but Clark Robertson, Billy Koumetio, Ryan Astley and substitute Antonio Portales stood firm.

Up the other Cameron again showed what a wonderful player and unerring finisher he is. Docherty will hope to build on this.

The late collapse against Kilmarnock has encouraged Tony Docherty to change four, including his goalkeeper as Jon McCracken is replaced by Trevor Carson.

Mohammed Sylla is suspended, while Scott Tiffoney and Antonio Portales drop to the bench.

Ryan Astley, Fin Robertson, and Scott Fraser all start.

• Follow the action

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Motherwell captain Paul McGinn drops out with a thigh problem but Dan Casey returns from suspension. Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson (both knee), Harry Paton (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring) and Jack Vale (calf) are long-term absentees.

Dundee midfielder Mo Sylla is suspended while Jordan McGhee’s swift recovery from a calf injury has given him a chance of featuring. Joe Shaughnessy is making good progress from a long-term knee injury.

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• Motherwell have only lost one of their last 14 Scottish Premiership games against Dundee (W9 D4), going down 0-3 in November 2021.

• Dundee are winless in seven Scottish Premiership away games at Motherwell (D3 L4) since a 3-2 victory in April 2017.

• Motherwell have won four of their last five league games (L1), including both of their last two. The Steelmen last won three league matches in a row in September 2023.

• Dundee have won just one of their last 15 league games (D6 L8), a 3-1 victory over Heart of Midlothian in August. Away from home, the Dee have won just one of their last 11 in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L6), beating St Johnstone 2-1 in March.

• Excluding penalties, Motherwell have scored more goals from set-pieces (6) than any side in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Scott Fraser is desperate to deliver at Dundee because he knows he failed to hit the heights on loan at Hearts last season. (Daily Record), external

Dundee winger Charlie Reilly has suffered another injury set-back on loan at Inverness Caley Thistle. (Courier - subscription), external

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

We asked for your views on what you want to see from Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

Ben: Everything feels really flat around the team and fanbase at the moment, which is strange because all of last season and the start of this season there was real optimism and a great connection between the fans, players and manager. A gritty, determined win on Saturday would go a long way in getting the fanbase back on side with the current squad.

Andy: A change at the back, a clean sheet or two, that would make me happy.

Innes: Definitely the defence needs tightening up. The players coming back from injury is a major boost. Getting out of this losing streak is a must and a draw at Fir Park is no shame at all. Going forward the team's resilience needs to improve too. Over 20 points given away from winning positions last season. Signs of this again, this needs to stop now.

Gary: More dynamic, telling substitutions and tactical changes when they're needed. Goes without saying, cut out the errors, make better decisions all round and share the workload more evenly.

George: Dundee need to start keeping clean sheets. Good possession, no mistakes, plenty of goals. Make all the chances count.

Carl: The priority is a major improvement in our defensive set up. Seeing out games from a winning position, which is a joke at the moment, is a serious flaw, as are some of our substitutions with attackers replacing defenders when we are enduring pressure from the opposition. Hope the international break can give Tony Docherty time to work on the obvious faults.

Stephen: The loss of Luke McCowan has had a huge impact on us. However, I feel Docherty has signed too many small, young and inexperienced players. Also too many loan signings that have no knowledge of the Scottish game.

Iain: Surely the league set-up has got to be looked to help clubs like Dundee. You have at least seven teams in the Premiership fighting to steer clear of relegation from the off, and that is not good for the game. St Mirren, Killie and Motherwell are simply teams who have become experts at grinding out results. That is not good for the game. We need change.

Ah, Tony Docherty's Dundee are nearly back in action. The end of this international window is in sight.

With domestic football making its welcome return this weekend, we want to know what you’re looking for from the Dark Blues when they kick back into gear against Motherwell on Saturday.

What needs to be improved between now and the next mini-international break next month from a Docherty and Dundee perspective?

Give us your thoughts here., external

Dundee boss Tony Docherty says the 1-0 win against Rangers in a bounce game at Murray Park is just the boost his side needed after the defeat before the international break. (The Courier)

Read the rest of Tuesday's gossip.

Dundee midfielder Sammy Braybrooke, 20, hopes to emulate England international James Maddison, who once worked with Dens Park boss Tony Docherty at Aberdeen. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

BBC Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions.

Grant asked: Why oh why can we not defend? I appreciate we have injuries but is our defence too young and inexperienced?

Tom answered: The number of goals conceded and the individual mistakes involved in a fair few of them must be deeply frustrating, Grant. There's been a few shockers.

I've looked back on those Dundee performances against the Old Firm in April last year - the 2-1 defeat to Celtic and the 0-0 with Rangers. Against Celtic, the back four was McGhee, Portales, Lamie and Dodgson. Against Rangers it was McGhee, Shaughnessy, Lamie and Dodgson.

There's been quite a lot of change there. McGhee has missed a few games through injury, Shaughnessy hasn't played all season, Lamie and Dodgson have both left. And Luke McCowan's presence is also sorely missed.

Tony Doc is going through a tricky time and has two 21-year-olds and a 22-year-old at the back/wing-back. He could do with more nous but it's in the treatment room right now.

BBC Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions.

George: How do Dundee get over the loss of Luke McCowan? They are missing his steadying influence in the midfield.

Tom answered: I don't have the answer, George, But Tony Doc might have a solution in his contacts book come January.

Losing McCowan is like Celtic losing Callum McGregor. How do you replace such a talented and influential player when you don't have much, or any, money to spend?

It's incredibly difficult. I think Dundee are still in some kind of mourning stage. They've played five games since McCowan left and haven't won any of them. They've tweaked formation and personnel in the middle of the park, but they've conceded 12 goals in those five games.

McCowan gave you stability and attacking threat. Tony Doc will be thinking about this night and day. I don't see a decent replacement at the club right now.

He'll need to find a loan player in January because Dundee's direction of travel isn't great at the moment. Understandable, given the loss of the player who tied everything together for them.

Controversial businessman and former Dundee board member Giovanni di Stefano claims to have opened talks with current owner Tim Keyes over a shock return to the Scottish Premiership club. (Scottish Sun), external

Dundee are refusing to engage with former director Giovanni di Stefano after the 69-year-old claimed to be in talks with owner Tim Keyes about a return, with the convicted fraudster saying he was "potentially the comeback king of Dundee Football Club" in a video shared on X. (The Courier), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

What would you like to ask Tom English about Dundee?

Our chief sportswriter is in the hotseat ready to answer your questions and offer his insight and opinion on your club.

Who has been the top performer so far? Is the manager living up to expectations?

Put your questions to Tom here, external.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Has the international break come at the wrong time for Dundee?

Probably not, because manager Tony Docherty has plenty to ponder over the enforced hiatus.

His team are heading into it off the back of a run of six games without a win – and while we always hear that teams are desperate to get straight back into action, perhaps it is a time for taking stock.

Dundee have been haemorrhaging goals – they have shipped 14 in those half dozen matches. That, allied to a propensity to drop points this season after being in a winning position, is a worrying combination.

Last weekend's visit of Kilmarnock summed it all up as the Dark Blues conceded three in the final 10 minutes to lose a game they were firmly in control of.

After that encounter Docherty said Dundee are "showing a level of performance that should be picking up points but the reality is we are not".

Trying to find a way of solving that conundrum will be at the forefront of his thoughts during the domestic sabbatical.

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

If you have a form problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, then maybe you can play the Dee-team!

Kilmarnock were winless in the league prior to their visit to Dens Park. We must be the best team in the world to play against when other sides are on dreadful runs of form.

Supporting Dundee often has me witnessing the spectacle of a team snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. This is another one of those times.

A worrying trend in Tony Docherty's era has been our inability to hold a lead. We lost the most points from winning positions last season - 28 in total. Twelve of those came from early leads at Ibrox and three games against Kilmarnock, where we twice ended up scoring last-minute equalisers.

Unfortunately, the main talking point of last Saturday's match comes with referee Grant Irvine in the spotlight.

The Dens Park faithful, along with pundits, were shocked when Mo Sylla was sent off for a challenge on Matty Kennedy that arguably shouldn't even have been called a foul.

Irvine also officiated our defeat to Ross County, which led to referees' chief Willie Collum personally calling Docherty to apologise for the failure to award Dundee a "stonewall" penalty. I don't want to portray him as a moustache-twirling villain, but these poor calls of judgment are costing us points.

With 11 men, we could have won the game. I can't excuse the fact we conceded three goals in the final seven minutes, but I was expecting us to eventually suffer from tired legs. Even then, Dundee should have managed the game's conclusion much better.

Aside from his goal, I felt this was Ziyad Larkeche's best game for the club so far. He and fellow Frenchman Billy Koumetio were immense for 85 minutes, but unfortunately, something had to give.

Oluwaseun Adewumi's goal for us was a moment of magic. He was falling down as he took the strike, with a defender goal side the entire time, and still executed a finish of the highest calibre. It deserved to count for something.

Overall, I'm left seething about the result. Red flags are present, but the performance did offer some encouragement. I've seen how teams play when they're truly in trouble, and we're not there yet.

The international break comes at a good time for the team to regroup and reset. This league is so tight that it only takes one or two positive results to shoot back up the table.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Dundee may have thrown away a two-goal lead in their defeat by Kilmarnock, but Lyall Cameron did enough to make my Team of the Week.

The midfielder's mistake at the end cost his side but it shouldn’t overshadow his overall importance to 10-man Dundee up until that point.

It was a tough moment for a player on an otherwise upward trajectory. The similarities potential-wise with Luke McCowan are obvious.

Watch highlights as Kilmarnock win 3-2 against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

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Tony Docherty reckons his side should have won the ‘maximum points’ available in their previous three home games, having only won one top-flight point at in that time at Dens Park.

After their late capitulation to Kilmarnock, where they shipped three goals in the final 10 minutes, Docherty reckons their effort are not being rewarded.

He said: “We are absolutely devastated.

“I genuinely feel in the last three home games we should have taken maximum points.

“We are showing a level of performance that should be picking up points but the reality is we are not.

“I need to take responsibility, the players need to take responsibility.

“We need to show more maturity to see games out.

“We concede in the 86th minute and it’s a mistake. They score 88th minute because we allow a cross in and don’t defend the back post.

“Then the winning goal there is a huge mistake in that as well. I’m hugely frustrated.”