Greg Stewart’s got one of the best left foots in Scotland.
And his right isn’t too shabby either.
But, according to team-mate Kane Hemmings, one of the most important body parts of Dundee’s matchwinner over Partick Thistle is his backside!
Stewart’s cut inside from the right and curl the left foot shot into the far corner has become his trademark finish.
He was at it again at Firhill to break the hearts of winless Thistle with little more than 10 minutes to go.
Stewart has long since ceased to be an unknown quantity in the top flight, so It begs the question – why do defenders not show the former Cowdenbeath man on to his right foot?
The player who knows him best from their days together at Central Park says that’s easier said than done. And even if you manage it, the result could be the same.
“It’s hard to get him off the ball,” Hemmings said. “I’ve tried to do it.
“He’s got a big bum! Listen, you can show him on to his right and he’ll still be able to jink it back to his left.
“Or you can show him on his left and he’ll take it to his right. Greg’s that type of player.
“He’s a confident player and he can hurt you on his right or his left. It’s tough for defenders. They don’t know what he’s going to do.
“Since I’ve known Greg he’s always had a cultured left foot and a pass finish. Obviously he’s worked on it with the gaffer but he’s always been capable of doing it. He’s a fantastic player, and if he runs at you, that’s the sort of thing he can do.”
Stewart was deservedly the headline-grabber for the Dark Blues, as it was his moment of class that settled the match in their favour.
But Hemmings insisted that the victory was very much a team one.
“We’re delighted with that win,” he said. “To a man, everyone worked their socks off.
“They were unfortunate not to get a couple of goals. But we took our chance and then held on. Overall I thought we got up the pitch and counter-attacked well when we got the chance.
“Everyone dug in. To get a clean sheet is nice as well.
“Our season has been a bit stop-start. That win will have moved us up the table and we’d probably take the position we’re in now if you’d offered us it at the start of the season.
“It’s a decent start but we can get better and kick on.”
Thistle, now joint bottom of the table, will feel as if the world’s against them after hitting the woodwork three times an overhead kick from Kris Doolan, a shot from Ryan Stevenson and a header from the same man. And there was also a close-range chance squandered by Robbie Muirhead.
But, despite conceding more territory and chances to Thistle than Paul Hartley would have been comfortable with, Dundee had a few near misses of their own.
Gary Irvine had one shot from distance and another from point blank range that were well saved by Tomas Cerny, Nick Ross was wasteful after being gifted a chance by the home defence, and Stewart passed up a great one-on-one when they were 1-0 up.
Hartley reflected: “In the first half we didn’t pass it well and the intensity in our play wasn’t there.
“We were much better second half. Don’t get me wrong, we rode our luck at times but overall I’m delighted with the points and the clean sheet.
“I said to the players that you can’t play well every week. It’s all about winning. Win at all costs.”
James McPake was substituted midway through the first half, with Hartley reporting it was as a result of a hip injury.
He noted: “We didn’t want to take any chances. It was too sore. We’ve got a lot of games coming up and didn’t want to take the risk.”
The Dens Park boss was pleased with the half-hour contribution of on-loan Aston Villa youngster Riccardo Calder.
Hartley said: “He’s positive, he’s quick. In the 10 days he’s been with us he’s been really good.
“He’s had a look at games on DVD to try and get a feel for the tempo of the game up here, because you don’t get a lot of time. I thought it was a good debut from him.”
Looking at the league table and the blank in the W column for Thistle, you’d think Saturday might have been the story of their season so far.
But Doolan feels there has been a change.
He explained: “In the last few games we’ve not created those kind of chances. It’s fine margins. Hitting the woodwork three times in a game doesn’t happen very often.
“It’s difficult to take when you see other teams around you picking up points but we’ll pick ourselves up and go again.”