Andy Campbell
BBC Scotland
Dundee showed far more hunger on the night and got the full reward of three points.
They maintained their intent after Aberdeen started to show ambition and in the wake of the winning goal, Luke McCowan's second-half penalty.
A home win always looked the most likely result.
Winger Luke McCowan was a persistent threat before and after his penalty winner.
Image source, SNSLuke McCowan scored in the 66th minute
Former Scotland striker Lee Miller talks about Tony Docherty and the job he's done at Dundee.
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland
Most weeks have the feel of being a big one during the course of a football season - such is the nature of the game - but for Dundee that certainly applies to the next few days.
While their next two games – at home to Aberdeen on Wednesday night, then a Dens Park date with Rangers at the weekend – won’t decide anything, the outcome of those two fixtures could provide a significant pointer towards how the remainder of the campaign will play out for Tony Docherty’s side.
The Dark Blues are currently seventh in the Premiership table, a point behind Hibernian, but also with Motherwell breathing down their necks.
With the games ticking down before the split, a couple of wins would certainly put them in a very healthy position in terms of their hopes of playing out the end of the campaign in the top six.
A couple of defeats could have the reverse effect.
Dundee have taken just one point from their last three games – a run of fixtures which has also seen them concede 11 goals, and that will concern Docherty.
Still, the Dundee manager and his team have already proved they know how to get results – and they will firmly believe they will be back on the victory trail sooner rather than later, as they strive for what would be a hugely impressive top-six finish.
Image source, SNSDundee manager Tony Docherty insists the club's main objective this season is to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership despite sitting seventh in the table, 10 points above Ross County in 11th.
Docherty did admit the prospect of securing a top-six finish is driving his players forward though, as they prepare to take on managerless Aberdeen on Wednesday.
"We’ll never get too far ahead of ourselves," Docherty said. "Our main objective is still staying in the league."
Although his side have occupied a top-half spot for the vast majority of this season, Docherty says they have no regrets and would have taken being in this position before a ball was kicked.
"If I’d said to the players at the start of the season that we’d be in this position, we’d have taken it," he added.
"The motivating factor for the players is that now we’re in this position, we need to make the most of it."
Image source, SNSDundee manager Tony Docherty has been speaking to the media before his side welcome Aberdeen to Dens Park on Wednesday.
Here are the key points from his press conference:
Says the recent break from games has allowed him to have a "really good training week", which puts the squad in a "good place".
Having watched Aberdeen beat Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, Docherty said he wasn't surprised, because the Dons have "good individual players".
Wouldn't be drawn on the managerial vacancy at Pittodrie, saying he is only focused on things within his control.
Insists the club's primary objective is still to stay up this season, but admits the prospect of finishing in the top six is a motivating factor for him and the players.
Team news: Josh Mulligan (hamstring) and Trevor Carson (knee) are both doubts for the game.
There are no fresh injuries for Aberdeen, with defender Slobodan Rubezic about four weeks away from returning to action.
Trevor Carson remains unavailable for Dundee after sitting out the draw with Kilmarnock with the recurrence of a knee injury, with Josh Mulligan has picked up a hamstring injury.
Image source, SNS
Dundee have won just one of their last 26 league meetings with Aberdeen (D7 L18), a 2-1 victory in October 2021 under James McPake.
Aberdeen are without a win in their last seven away league visits to newly promoted opponents (D3 L4) since a 3-1 win at Ross County in November 2019. Two of these seven winless away games came against Dundee, losing 1-2 in October 2021 and drawing 2-2 in April 2022.
After losing three consecutive home matches in the Scottish Premiership between November and February, Dundee are since unbeaten in their last three (W2 D1) and are looking to make it four on the bounce without defeat at home for the first time since October 2023 (run of seven).
Aberdeen have lost each of their last four away league games, conceding two goals in all four defeats and could lose five successive such games for only the second time since the start of 2011 (also did so between October 2022 and February 2023 – 7 games).
Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski has netted 13 times this season, with only Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland (20) and Rangers’ James Tavernier (14) scoring more than the Macedonian.
Dundee have revealed a new third kit inspired by the Black Watch. (Courier - subscription required), external
Dundee are back in league action when they host Aberdeen on Wednesday.
With top six ambitions, the Dens Park side will be hoping to take all three points from a Dons team third from bottom - who are once again without a manager after Neil Warnock departed at the weekend.
Pick your preferred XI for the game here.
Image source, SNSThe spotlight has been firmly fixed on Owen Beck this season and it's not hard to see why.
After a stellar first half of the season with Dundee, the Welsh left-back was recalled by parent club Liverpool before opting to return to Dens for the second half of the campaign.
The 21-year-old is fifth in the league for chances created, a hugely impressive statistic for a defender, with only Danny Armstrong of Kilmarnock and Blair Spittal of Motherwell creating more for non-Old Firm clubs.
Whether he'll stay at Dundee beyond this season remains to be seen but he's a hugely valuable asset for Tony Docherty's side in the meantime.
Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland
Such has been the impact Dundee have made since they returned to the Scottish Premiership this season, there will be plenty of a Dark Blues persuasion who will feel very disappointed if they don’t make the top-six cut when the league splits in a few weeks.
That in its own way is a huge compliment to the good work Tony Docherty has done since he came in.
Survival would have been the main aim for the top-flight new boys at the start of the campaign, but they have acquitted themselves so well and have kept themselves well clear of the basement battle.
There is a lot of football still to be played of course, but you just wonder if come the end of the season, if it might be a case of ‘what if’ for the Dens Park side.
Speaking after they were denied a win over Kilmarnock by an added-time Robbie Deas goal at the weekend, Dundee’s Luke McCowan admitted: "We have given away points from winning positions more than what we wanted this year, and it is a massive thing we are disappointed with."
And the stats certainly back that up - they have lost 19 points from winning positions in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.
If they had been able to eradicate that issue, then what is already a very good season would have the look of being a great one.
But it could still be, if they can find a way of hanging onto leads over the next few months.
Daniel Smith
Fan writer
It's been a week to forget for any Dundee fan.
An absolute thumping at the hands of Celtic at Parkhead in midweek was followed by an injury-time sucker-punch from ten-man Kilmarnock at Dens Park as the Ayrshire team snatched a point on Saturday.
With results going against us, it also meant that for the first time in a long while, we dropped out of the top six.
A few weeks ago, I spoke here and on the podcast about how we should dream of a top-half finish, but with the last few results and other teams starting to hit their stride, it now looks harder to achieve.
Had a few decisions and a bit of luck gone our way, we could be up near Kilmarnock in fourth, but this is real life and we have to deal with where we are in the league.
Saturday's draw was a sickener. A win would have seen us keep pace with Hibs as they continue their mini-revival, but another late concession allowed the Edinburgh club to move above us in the table.
We have some tough games before the split and some fairly winnable ones to go along with that.
Finishing in the top six is still very much doable - it's just that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot when we look poised to take control.
You can find Daniel Smith on the Up Wi' the Bonnets podcast, external.
Dundee are set to be without versatile defender Jordan McGhee for the majority of the month as he picked up a calf injury in last week's heavy defeat to Celtic. (The Courier)
Read the rest of Tuesday's gossip.
Image source, SNSLuke McCowan admitted his frustration at Dundee once again throwing away a winning position, as Kilmarnock scored a late equaliser to deny the Dens Park side all three points.
The winger put Tony Docherty's side into the lead from the penalty spot, before Robbie Deas' 91st-minute equaliser.
"The boys aren’t happy, we had a chance to go and get three points and we didn’t do it," McCowan said post-match. "We were against a team with 10 men, 2-1 up and we didn’t see the game out. We are bitterly disappointed."
Dundee have lost 19 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, more than any other team.
"It's no surprise to people that follow stats that we've given away points from winning positions more than what we wanted this year.
"We just needed to see that game out. If we did that in training maybe 50 times, we deal with it and then it comes to a game day and we just didn’t. That is probably the most disappointing bit, we know that we can do it.
As a result, Dundee drop to seventh behind Hibs and lose vital ground in the race for the top six.
"It's just about getting experience from it. We have got to pull together in the same direction and I think today, in the last 10 or 15 minutes, we just sat in and protected what we had.
"The other night against Celtic probably encourages that, because we came from a big defeat, we want to go and win. You always sit deep after you score and we just sat too deep and didn’t counter them at all."
Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter
Dundee's top scorer, Luke McCowan, showed good composure from the spot again as he did his utmost to secure victory over Kilmarnock at Dens.
Once again, he was the Dee's creator in chief, but it was his defence that let him down as they conceded a late equaliser.
A magnificent little player with a low centre of gravity, and an abundance of confidence to try things and take players on, he has taken the step up this season.
Luke McCowan, who last summer signed a new contract to keep him with Dundee until 2025, is keen to extend his deal further as the 26-year-old midfielder enjoys a stellar campaign in dark blue. (The Courier), external
Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.
Image source, BBC SportJames McFadden feels Lewis Mayo deserved his red card - and Dundee deserved their penalty.
Watch the best of the action as Dundee and Kilmarnock share four goals for the third time this season. (Available to UK users only)
We asked for your thoughts after Dundee's dramatic 2-2 draw Kilmarnock... it's becoming a habit, isn't it?
Here's a taste of what you had to say:
Roberto: Really good game against a well-organised Kilmarnock side. 2-2 was fair. To lose the equaliser in the 91st minute was hard to take though.
Boab: 2-1 up and Killie down to 10 men we should have seen the game out, however a decent performance.
Doug: It was an excellent game of football if you were a Kilmarnock supporter or a neutral, but something of a disappointment for diehard Dees supporters.
Chances came and went for the Dees, but they once again failed to convert their overall superiority into the win that they merited. Regaining a place in the top-six will require their best from now on!
Image source, SNSDundee have lost 19 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, more than any other team.
Kilmarnock have scored in their last 11 games in the Scottish Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 19 games from 26 November 2017 to 14 April 2018.
Luke McCowan has scored seven goals this season, more than any other Dundee player in the Scottish Premiership.
Marley Watkins has scored six goals this season, more than any other Kilmarnock player in the Scottish Premiership.
