Dundee’s start to life under Tony Docherty’s stewardship has been a strong one.
After promotion last season, the Dark Blues sit fifth in the Premiership after the opening 11 matches of the campaign.
Strong defence has been the bedrock to their success but in what other areas do the Dees excel? And where have they struggled?
Courier Sport delved into the StatsBomb numbers to pick out some key indicators and pluck out the individuals shining so far.
Team
Let’s start with some simple stats and how Dundee compare to the rest of the division.
Goals: 14 (=7th)
Conceded: 15 (=4th)
Clean sheets: 6 (3rd)
Shots: 137 (7th)
Shots on target: 50 (6th)
Fouls: 126 (9th)
Yellow cards: 17 (10th)
Red cards: 1 (3rd)
Only Celtic and Rangers can boast more clean sheets than Dundee this season with Tony Docherty’s side already closing in on their best top-flight record in 20 years.
Five times since 2003, the Dee have managed seven. In 2001/02 they earned 11.
They are low down on the foul count and yellow card tally. That, though, isn’t a sign of a team reluctant to put the boot in.
Rather, it points to the defensive strategy that has worked so well so far this season.
Across the campaign, Dundee have enjoyed the least possession of any team in the Premiership. They’ve also made the least passes and allow more passes for the opposition before a challenge is made.
The gameplan is to allow opposition teams the ball in areas where danger is low, let them pass it about. Then when the time comes, steal the ball and break quickly.
The Dark Blues are also the Premiership kings from set-pieces with seven goals coming from free-kicks, corners or throw-ins.
Non-penalty xG (quality of chances created): 14.09 (6th)
Non-penalty xG conceded: 17.48 (11th)
Open play xG: 8.94 (6th)
Open play xG conceded: 12.44 (10th)
Set-piece goals: 7 (1st)
Set-piece goals conceded: 1 (=2nd)
Possession: 42% (12th)
Successful passes: 2,770 (12th)
PPDA (passes per defensive action): 11.98 (12th)
Individual
There are no prizes for guessing which players come out on top in the individual stats.
Owen Beck has been outstanding in dark blue since joining on loan from Liverpool.
He’s yet to find the net as a senior player but has played a major role in Dundee’s set-piece success, playing a part in six league goals and eight in all competitions already this term.
That’s more than any other Dundee player. Beck also leads the way in defence.
He’s made more tackles, more interceptions but also committed the most fouls and picked up more yellows than anyone else. Zak Rudden also has three league cautions but Beck has five in all competitions.
Also riding high in the stats is Luke McCowan. The former Ayr raider has been a standout in midfield and has two league assists, including one last time out against St Mirren and has also taken more shots than any other Dee.
Lyall Cameron, too, is quietly showing his quality. His passing is the most accurate in the squad.
Top scorer: Amadou Bakayoko (4)
Most assists: Luke McCowan (2)
Most goal contributions (goals/assists/2nd assists): Owen Beck (6)
Best passing accuracy: Lyall Cameron (77%)
Most yellow cards: Owen Beck/Zak Rudden (3)
Most red cards: Josh Mulligan (1)
Most shots: Luke McCowan (25)
Most tackles: Owen Beck (49)
Most interceptions: Owen Beck (30)
Most clearances: Joe Shaughnessy (105)
Most fouls: Owen Beck (22)
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