I watched Dundee destroy Aberdeen and noted potential Scotland forward, bickering and past memories
· Mark Atkinson · 2026-08-09 · nguồn gốc
I watched Dundee destroy Aberdeen and noted potential Scotland forward, bickering and reminder of last season
The three key takeaways from Dundee’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen in Premiership
Dundee were worthy 2-0 winners over Aberdeen in the Premiership’s match of the day on Saturday.
Goals for Joe Westley and Joe Bevan secured the three points for the hosts on Tayside - although had the scoreline been more emphatic, there would have been few complaints.
Mark Atkinson was at Dens Park for The Scotsman to cover proceedings and picks out his three main talking points:
The potential of Joe Bevan
Speak to Dundee fans and they will tell you how excited they are about their 22-year-old forward Joe Bevan, who was the man of the match with a one-player torture of Aberdeen’s defence.
Bevan assisted Joe Westley’s ninth-minute opening goal with an accurate cross and added his own strike on 56 minutes and they were two crowning moments of a regal performance.
Stationed wide right, Bevan used his searing pace to scorch past Aberdeen’s left-back Nesta Guinness-Walker and more often than not found an end product. He likes to cut on to his left foot and put in some excellent crosses. He is an out-ball for Dundee, a threatening player who is not afraid to make things happen.
This was Bevan’s first goal in the Scottish Premiership. He joined on a permanent deal from Burnley in January, who picked him up two years ago from Albion Rovers after spells in the juniors with Kilsyth and Camelon. His manager Steven Pressley reckons he has the attributes to go to the top.
"We're really excited with Joe,” said Pressley after the match. “He's got English Premier League physicality, he's got incredible speed, he's really strong on one-to-one, he's actually a good finisher. We just want him to grow and keep believing in himself because he gives us something different.”
On a week dominated by articles on the dearth of young Scottish players coming through our top flight and a summit meeting called next month to address it, Bevan’s performance was timely. Dundee had four Scots in their starting XI - Ethan Hamilton, Charlie Reilly, Bevan and Simon Murray - although the latter, with respect, is no spring chicken these days. Nevertheless, it is heartening, and sadly rare, to see a Scottish core of players.
Bevan clearly isn’t international material just yet. But he is one worth watching over the coming months as the new Scotland manager isn’t blessed with wide players who have the power and pace of Saturday’s matchwinner. There is genuine hope that Bevan can develop into someone worth calling up in the future.
The story of Steven Pressley
“Pressley, Pressley-ball,” was the song coming out of the Derry on Saturday afternoon. You would have got long odds on such a ditty being sang a year ago from the Dundee faithful.
Steven Pressley has done some job in turning around his stock with the Dens Park supporters. His cool, calm, grounded and often self-deprecating manner clearly gets the best out of his players, who enjoy working for him. And the fans are buying in to what the 52-year-old is producing on the pitch.
Dundee are fun to watch right now. Pressley has them playing in a fast-paced, front-foot style. They are adventurous, they are set up to score goals and the ball doesn’t often leave the deck.
Pressley purred over how well his team attacked but he was also right to point out that his defence were extremely miserly. New goalkeeper Owen Goodman, a 22-year-old on loan from Crystal Palace, has settled in nicely and the centre-half pairing of Ryan Astley and Owen Bevan have made Dundee fans quickly forget last season’s duo of Luke Graham and Billy Koumetio. Aberdeen did rally towards the end of this match and Dundee kept their shape and discipline at the back.
It is why Pressley said this performance was the most complete since he took over from predecessor Tony Docherty.
Pressley signed an enhanced contract at the start of the season, a reward for the work he has done over the past 14 months at Dundee. He is finally getting the credit he deserves. Not one to blow his own trumpet, the former Scotland defender is anticipating tougher days, where he will learn about how his team deals with adversity. For now, he can enjoy what his players are giving him.
Aberdeen need a reaction
It would premature to get worried about Aberdeen’s display at Dundee, even if it was truly wretched.
Their manager Stephen Robinson was correct to point out that nobody of a Pittodrie persuasion got pass marks - not least himself - and was also entitled to explain that prior to this match, Aberdeen had won all of their Premier Sports Cup ties and beaten Hearts on the Premiership opening weekend.
Nothing went right for Aberdeen at Dens Park. They missed the physicality of injured pair Brad Lyons and Connor Ronan and were defensively suspect right from the off. Their passing was poor, nothing stuck up front and they got little joy from out wide. Former Dundee winger Tony Yogane, in particular, had a bad day, not able to create anything and failing to track back to help Guinness-Walker out with Bevan.
Towards the end of the first half, Aberdeen’s masked goalkeeper Marius Muller - not a man you would want to mess with - had a frank exchange of views with Yogane before a Dundee corner kick. At the interval, skipper Kevin Nisbet urged the 20-year-old to come off the pitch quickly alongside his teammates so that the damage could be repaired. Robinson ended up hooking him, although afterwards refused to hang the summer signing out to dry, saying others need to help the youngster out when the going gets tough.
A lot of upheaval has happened at Aberdeen this summer. Belgian forward Mitchy Ntelo, announced just before the Dundee game, became the 13th signing of this transfer window and it will take time for the team to gel. But this was a performance that reminded us of Aberdeen last season, when they hurtled towards the drop zone, and one the manager is desperate to eradicate.
As the football gods like to decree, these two meet again on Saturday in the Premier Sports Cup at Pittodrie. It is a chance for Aberdeen to atone for a terrible performance, one that was booed by their own fans, who had travelled down the A90 in numbers. Robinson will need to find a reaction.
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