What happened to Dundee in the second half at Falkirk and why did it end in embarrassment?

The Dark Blues justifiably led at halftime, but their advantage slipped in the second quarter.

Dundee squandered a fantastic opportunity to build on their win against Celtic with a forgettable second half performance at Falkirk. It all began off so perfectly.

The euphoria from defeating the champions was still pouring through the Dark Blues’ blood.

And it was déjà vu all over again when Cam Congreve took a corner from the right, clipped in an enticing cross, and Clark Robertson nodded home.

However, it did not survive long enough to give Dundee their first Premiership victories in almost 18 months.

Courier Sport was at the sold-out Falkirk Stadium to watch the Dee’s poor performance.

First half

After a solid start, Dundee deserved to be ahead at halftime.

They dealt with everything the Bairns threw at them, and Jon McCracken was forced to make only one save.

And there was a serious threat on the other end. Simon Murray was denied within 90 seconds, Joe Westley had an excellent chance at goal, and set-pieces were causing havoc.

Dundee should have also received a penalty with the score at 1-0. Kyrell Wilson hauled down Ethan Hamilton within the area, but referee Ross Hardie ruled that it was the Dundee player who fouled him.

He was charged with reckless play. However, video indicated he touched the ball while Wilson swung and booted the Dundee player’s studs.

A straightforward foul by the Falkirk player, who was already on a yellow card. It’s beyond comprehension why VAR didn’t send the referee back to check the monitor.

It also meant Hamilton was on a yellow-card tight-rope for the rest of the contest, dulling his competitive edge when his team needed more of that.

There were additional opportunities that a fully fit Murray would almost certainly have taken advantage of.

Dundee led at halftime and appeared to be on track to maintain their momentum.

At the time, the Dee were third in the Premier League table.

Second half

However, Dundee would not be complete without the dark blue rollercoaster in action.

Falkirk deserve credit for stepping up their game dramatically after the restart. However, many of the most memorable moments were caused by Dundee’s own mistakes.

McCracken passed directly to a Falkirk player before Calvin Miller, a former Dee, clipped the crossbar.

The equaliser came via a combination: the cross was not prevented, and Drey Wright was held at the back post, allowing Ethan Williams to cross freely.

Clark Robertson couldn’t find his feet and shot the ball straight into his own net. Falkirk went on to win the game. Dundee were not aggressive enough, according to Pressley. That’s been a typical issue throughout the season.

However, Dundee’s substitutes deserve credit for halting the flow. Emile Acquah has received criticism for his early efforts, but he provided a presence up top that helped his team advance up the pitch, even though he posed minimal goal danger.

Yan Dhanda and Tony Yogane, too, provided new threats, with only a defensive block preventing Dhanda from scoring a headed goal when the two linked up.

But it all came crashing down at 89 minutes.

Clark Robertson

Dundee’s defence commander had a pretty weird day.

Robertson’s second goal in two games puts him the club’s leading scorer this season. He has four throughout all competitions, including two in the Premiership.

But he has already scored two own goals. Along with Kieron Bowie and Jesper Karlsson, he is the most prolific player for and against Dundee this season.

And he will not want to see his role in the winning goal played out again.

His supervisor, however, encouraged Robertson to answer. “He’s been absolutely terrific this year,” Steven Pressley told Courier Sport after the game.

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