Dundeeās away form in the Premiership did not make pleasant bedtime reading for any Dark Blue.
Four played, four defeats with one goal scored and 11 conceded.
And heading to an unbeaten Hearts side with the chance to go top of the table, James McPakeās men werenāt given much chance of getting something.
However, something has changed in Dundee over the past couple of weeks.
Getting the first win took some pressure off and theyāve got almost all their key players fit and available once more.
But what did we learn from the 1-1 draw at Tynecastle?
Competing
In plenty of the opening league matches, Dundee had played well enough without the reward of points on the board.
On Saturday, they didnāt play as well as they can. This time, though, they picked up a valuable point on the road.
Thatās the crux of the difference in the Dark Blues right now.
The return of skipper Charlie Adam, though he didnāt have a great game at Hearts, and edging towards fitness of Leigh Griffiths has added much in an attacking sense.
More impressive, though, has been the backline and in particular the partnership of Lee Ashcroft and Ryan Sweeney.
Both can be uncompromising and both are willing to put their bodies on the line.
They were dealing with a top striker in Liam Boyce at Hearts and barely gave him a sniff ā Ashcroftās blocking tackle early in the second half summed that up.
For some of the first eight matches it felt like Dundee were only playing at Premiership level, now they are competing.
Having a strong central defence has been crucial to that.
Jason Cummings
When Jason Cummings was absent from the team last month, there was an assumption among some supporters that his time at Dens Park may be up.
A goalscorer like him, heās not going to be happy sitting on the bench. Particularly when he remains the clubās top scorer this term and has scored more goals than any other Dundee player since his arrival in January.
However, manager James McPake was full of praise for the attitude of the 26-year-old.
And that was borne out on the pitch in the second half at Hearts.
Sent on after 62 minutes, Cummings was used on the right side of the attack and wasnāt afraid to put in the hard work defensively.
Former Hearts youth player Jason Cummings denied the league leaders all three points at Tynecastle, as Dundee fought back to claim a share of the spoils š¤
Highlights š pic.twitter.com/iVQPy02TzP
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) October 23, 2021
In fact, at one point McPake and assistant Dave Mackay were yelling furiously for Cummings to push up because he was too deep inside the Dundee box as Hearts attacked.
At the other end, give him a sniff and a goal will come.
Fourteen goals in 31 Dundee games now.
The Gambler
Dundee had a problem with the Hearts set-up for much of the first half, the wide central defenders of the Jambos were killing them.
John Souttar and Stephen Kingsleyās ability on the ball meant they were able to break most attempts to press and then take advantage of space created on the flanks with accurate long balls.
The solution in the second half was a risky one ā put three out-and-out strikers on and go man-to-man.
It was a gamble from McPake.
At times the front three all stayed up the pitch as Hearts attacked.
What it did, though, was take away the space for Souttar in particular to step into midfield and, with a lead to protect, the Hearts backline didnāt want to leave the attackers alone.
And it was a gamble that paid off.
When Dundee got the ball, they had three or four men attacking the box.
The Dens boss has never been afraid to go for broke in games by throwing on attackers.
At Tynecastle, that bravery was rewarded with a first away point of the campaign.
