Dundee games won’t be looked back on with much fondness by Richard Foster when the St Johnstone defender reflects on his 2017.
In the last game of the year at McDiarmid Park, the former Aberdeen and Rangers man was red carded midway through the first half.
And by this point he had been out-muscled by Marcus Haber for the Canadian’s third minute opening goal.
Foster, who got a two-game ban for kicking the referee’s door at Dens Park a few months ago, will now face another suspension when the season resumes after the January break.
He didn’t look too happy with Willie Collum today when he ordered him off for his challenge on Paul McGowan.
Saints had just been starting to get into the match after Dundee’s fast start but it was an uphill task from then on with a man down.
They were unlucky not to be level shortly after the re-start, though, when Elliott Parish could only watch Stefan Scougall’s free-kick come back off the bar. The keeper earned his win bonus with a finger-tip save to deny Liam Gordon from the rebound.
A lot of credit has to be given to Tommy Wright’s men for making it look like 11 v 11 in the second half and it wasn’t until the 74th minute that Zander Clark had a significant save to make from Faissal El Bakhtaoui.
The former Dunfermline man saw a volley graze the post a few minutes later and at the other end Steven MacLean had a header saved with his first touch after coming off the bench.
Then in the last minute A-Jay Leitch-Smith scored a spectacular 20-yarder to send Dundee into 2018 with a Tayside derby win for the second year in a row.
