For a team to hit the woodwork once in a game is unlucky – to do so four times is something that Tom Hateley had never experienced before in his career until Saturday.
The 27-year-old former Motherwell player completed the feat twice himself against Hearts at Tynecastle with Kosta Gadzhalov and Yordi Teijsse also being denied by the frame of Jambos keeper Jack Hamilton’s goal.
After going so close on four occasions, Dundee’s hard-luck story was confirmed afterwards as Hearts did find the back of the net through Callum Paterson and sub Bjorn Johnsen.
The sequence of events left Hateley scratching his head as he could not recall being part of a team that had been denied by the woodwork so many times in a game.
He said: “No I don’t think so, especially not scoring as well.
“When I hit the post, I thought it is not going to be my day, personally but you still think that we would have chances elsewhere.
“To hit the woodwork four times is obviously unlucky but we are creating chances which is the important thing.
“Next week we are going to have to be more clinical. Don’t get me wrong, there is not a lot more you can do from hitting a post. An inch further in and it would have been a goal.
“I still think it is an unfortunate result for us.
“We’ll just look to next week at St Johnstone and concentrate on putting out a good performance and that’s all we can do.
“The fans were great for us today and we gave them a clap at the end to show our appreciation for them sticking by us. I’m more than confident eventually we will turn things around.
“I don’t think too many people will disagree with me – we put in a good enough performance at a difficult place to take something from the game.
“We should have had more but didn’t and that’s unfortunately the way football is sometimes, but if we keep performing like that and hopefully turn these chances into goals, I’ve no worries we’ll be on our way up the table soon.”
With Patrick Thistle drawing with Hamilton and Kilmarnock stunning St Johnstone at McDiarmid to take all three points, the Tynecastle defeat meant that Dundee slipped to the bottom of the Premiership table on goal difference.
However, Hateley insists that it is far too early in the campaign to be overly concerned.
He said: “We are disappointed to have created a lot of chances at a difficult place and come away with nothing.
“I think we have gone from the last couple of games where we didn’t create a lot of chances to making a lot but not taking them.
“I know we have dropped down to the bottom of the league but it isn’t something we are going to get too drawn into looking at that sort of stuff.
“We have a long way to go and if we keep playing like that . . . I don’t think many people would disagree that we should have got more from the Hearts game.”
The Dark Blues had a great chance with just seconds on the clock when Faissal El Bakhtaoui pounced on a slack back pass from Paterson but former Dundee United defender John Souttar raced back to make a desperate last-ditch tackle to deny the striker.
The Jambos then came close to capitalising on a Dundee error when Kevin Gomis dithered with Conor Sammon pouncing but Scott Bain made a vital save to deny him.
Paul Hartley’s side then had a chance of their own in the 21st minute when Hateley hit a superb free-kick that brushed the top of Hamilton’s crossbar.
Dundee had keeper Bain to thank for denying the Jambos twice shortly before the break.
The goalie firstly dived full length to tip away a fierce Arnaud Djoum drive and then pulled off an amazing save to keep out a Paterson header from the resultant corner.
Just two minutes after the restart, Hateley hit the woodwork for the second time when he crashed an angled shot from the edge of the Hearts penalty box off Hamilton’s right-hand post.
The Dark Blues hit the woodwork for a third time shortly after when Gadzhalov headed a Hateley corner off the crossbar.
Jamie Walker then looked certain to score for the home side but Bain made another great point-blank save to deny him.
In the 62nd minute, Dundee were denied by the frame of the goal for the fourth time when Yordi Teijsse fired in a crisp shot from the edge of the home box which smashed off the post.
However, the deadlock was finally broken seven minutes later when Jambos sub Robbie Muirhead swung a deep free-kick in from the left and Paterson rose highest to send a towering header past Bain.
Hearts finally put the game to bed in the 89th minute when sub Bjorn Johnsen latched onto a Walker cutback from the right to steer the ball past Bain.
