Dundee defeated – two words that haven’t gone together for a long time.
Just shy of five long months in fact since the Dark Blues were last beaten – February 28 at home to Partick Thistle.
Their 11-match unbeaten run, however, came to an end at Airdrie thanks to a dubious spot-kick decision.
Rhys McCabe stepped up to show Lyall Cameron how to do it from 12 yards as he put his side top of Group E.
But what can we take from Saturday’s defeat?
Penalties
Where else to start in a game like this?
Dundee had the chance to put themselves in front, a lead that would’ve been deserved – just about.
Scott Tiffoney won it by being sharper than the Airdrieonians backline and there was no doubt over the decision from Colin Steven on this one.
Lyall Cameron has now taken three penalties for the Dark Blues – two in matches, one in a shootout – and seen them all saved.
No doubting the confidence or the quality in the young man but that’s not a ratio that works for anybody.
Up the other end in the closing stages, Jack Wilkie was adjudged to have pushed Josh O’Connor in the area. Another penalty.
This one, though, looked soft at first glance. On second viewing on video it looks a terrible decision.
Player-manager McCabe, though, didn’t care as he put his side in the driving seat in Group E.
Toothless
Criticising the penalty decision, however, should not be taken as Dundee being hard done by.
They only had themselves to blame.
Cameron should have scored from 12 yards but the rest of the team also should have made more of the positions they got into.
There’s a familiar theme emerging over the last few games – Arbroath, Cove Rangers, Bonnyrigg and now Airdrieonians.
That’s four games and just three goals against lower-league opposition.
In each there was a frustration from manager Tony Docherty that his side weren’t anywhere near clinical enough and it was more of the same at the Excelsior.
There’s something missing between midfield and attack, a gap that’s not being bridged right now.
The strikers have got goals in pre-season but they’ve not missed a huge amount of chances. The supply hasn’t been consistent enough.
Numbers, too, have been an issue. There was no real option to come from the bench to change either winger.
Owen Beck missing was a big one. His quality from left-back has been a major part of Dundee’s strategy.
Penalty aside, Wilkie performed well but he’s a completely different player.
It’s clear more additions are required.
Young team
This was a learning curve for what still is a very young team.
Airdrie were well-organised and their movement pulled Dundee’s midfield around at times, creating big gaps to play into.
The oldest player in the starting middle three is Malachi Boateng at 21. In fact the oldest player not a defender in that side was Luke McCowan at 25.
This is a young team and with that comes inconsistency. More of that, though, can’t be afforded if they want to avoid an early exit.
Diego Pineda
More frustration for Docherty as an error from the Mexico Football Federation denied Antonio Portales a first Dundee appearance.
We did see Diego Pineda, though.
He brought energy and work-rate, a few nice touches and one shot. That effort, however, showed a rustiness you’d expect from a player who hasn’t played since April.
There was enough, though, to suggest a good addition to the squad once he’s up to speed.
Group
One defeat doesn’t mean it’s game over in this competition, thankfully for Dundee.
What it does do is make the margin for error much, much smaller.
It’s likely the Dark Blues will now have to win against both Dumbarton and Inverness if they want to top Group E.
And will need Caley Thistle to get something against Airdrie as well.
For the best runners-up slot, it’ll be tricky. Only three go through after finishing second.
Teams have qualified with eight points in the past. Nine must be the target now, though.
