Dens Park Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 k/o 19:45   Scottish Championship Attendance: 4,561         Dundee 0-0 Raith Rovers
2013 /14

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Date: 18 March 2014 Venue: Dens Park Competition: SPFL Championship Dundee 0 - 0 Raith Rovers Dundee had the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Championship to three points tonight, but had to settle for a one point lead over Hamilton with eight games to go. The Dark Blues couldn''t repeat their fine form against Livingston, and served up a poor performance to the disappointed home fans in a grim game that offered little entertainment. Dundee made only one change after the win at Livingston. Steven Doris came in for the injured Christian Nadé. The line-up might have been largely the same, but there was little resemblance to Saturday''s commanding performance. Rovers settled more quickly and looked the more dangerous team throughout the first half. Carelessness plagued the Dark Blues and there were worrying early signs. Willie Dyer gave the ball away as he came out of defence: Grant Anderson ran clear down the right but his low cross was just ahead of his team mates. Dundee managed to get the first shot on target after quarter of an hour. Doris stabbed at Dyer''s cross but goalkeeper Robinson took the ball comfortably. Greig Spence cut in from the left and hit a fierce shot from 30 yards that ex-Dee John Baird nearly managed to divert right in front of Kyle Letheren. The big Welsh keeper had to be at his best to keep the Dark Blues on level terms in the first half. He pulled off a superb save from Anderson''s close range header after Cardle had jinked his way along the byline. Rovers'' defence was disrupted when they lost centre back Watson to injury and he was replaced by Reece Donaldson at half time. However, the visitors still contained the Dark Blues'' attacks comfortably for most of the second half. There was some improvement in Dundee''s performance after half time, but it was still a long way short of the standard that the supporters were hoping for. Dundee''s best move of the match came only a minute after the restart when MacDonald and Rae combined to send Boyle into the penalty area. The young striker cut inside Booth, but his low shot was well saved by Robinson. Dundee were at last showing more drive and were holding the ball better. The extra possession didn''t turn into chances, and it merely served to curb Rovers'' ambitions. The second half deteriorated into a dreary and disappointing slog, with neither side having the ability or confidence to take charge. With half an hour to play Paul Hartley sent on Ryan Conroy for Doris. Dundee reverted to the formation they played in the first few games under the new manager. MacDonald was on his own up front in the middle, with Boyle and Conroy on either side, and McAlister in the hole behind the striker. The change didn''t provide any great improvement and the goalless draw always looked the most likely outcome. Nicky Riley replaced Boyle for the last 20 minutes. He offered some early threat, but the lack of effective support soon dragged him down into the prevailing mediocrity. Ryan Conroy did have a chance from a good cross by Dyer, but he headed wastefully wide. Rovers settled for the point long before the end and goalkeeper Robinson was booked for time-wasting. When they won a corner late in the match they tried to keep possession by the corner flag rather than attack the goal but simply lost the ball. That incident, and a corner at the other end, summed up the match. Jim McAlister had been one of the better performers, but his corner as the match entered injury time curled straight out of play. It was that sort of match. Dundee fans turned up tonight in good numbers for a midweek game. They were sadly disappointed by the performance that the Dark Blues served up. There was little penetration or invention, and hardly any effective use of the wide areas. This was a disappointing draw, but the Dark Blues didn''t deserve any more, and they might easily have lost. It was hardly a good night, but a performance like this could have had a worse outcome, and probably would have done against more confident and aggressive opponents. Some goalless draws are entertaining and satisfying. This wasn''t one of them: no goals, no entertainment and precious little football. It was such a disappointment after Saturday''s excellent win. Report: James Christie