Tony Docherty happy as Dundee come through ‘brilliant test’

Tony Docherty praised his patient Dundee players for finding a way to break Arbroath’s resolve in their 2-0 Premier Sports Cup win at Gayfield.

The Dark Blues eased to an emphatic 7-1 victory over Bonnyrigg in their opening group match on Saturday, but it was a different story on Tuesday as they were made to wait until the second half to seize the initiative through a Luke McCowan penalty and a strike from recent signing Ethan Ingram.

“I thought it was a brilliant test for us,” manager Docherty told Dundee TV. “Arbroath were very well organised and it was tough, the players had to find the answers and that’s what was really pleasing about the result and performance.

“In the first half we were trying to find a way, we addressed it at half-time and in the second half I thought we were really, really strong in our performance.

“The clean sheet from the back three and also the attacking options I had coming off the bench, all in all it was a really good night. It was a difficult game, a real challenge, but we came through it really well.”

The Dark Blues needed an early penalty save from Jon McCracken to prevent Innes Murray giving the League One side the lead and Docherty was impressed with his goalkeeper’s contribution.

“Not just the penalty, but Jon made some really important saves,” he said. “We dominated the ball tonight so our goalkeeper had to be totally switched on to make some big saves.

“Jon’s distribution from the back as well is fantastic, there’s a real confidence from the players that he will pick the right option when he gets on the ball.”