THE Derby

What a fantastic occassion and advert for the SPL. Us and them. Tangerine and dark blue. A 7 year wait ended.

Thorougly enjoyed today, albeit that's primarily because of the result. The game itself might not have been a classic, derby games rarely are, but a three goal win, our second of the season, that puts us back to the top of the SPL with the bluenoses sent crashing to the basement can't be anything other than a good day for any Arab anywhere.

More than the game itself, I thought both sets of fans were a credit to their clubs. Passionate, noisy, and always behind their teams. Credit to the Dees too as they kept getting behind their team even when the game was clearly beyond them. I was surprised how many remained to the end. Well done to them. It's going to be a hard old season for them and I fear that they'll struggle to get away from their current position.

A quick summary of the game itself: They should have scored early doors, how they didn't baffles me. We did take our chances though, with Russell having a fantastic first 45 minutes. He won the freekick for the first, he got a break with the second and scored a simply magnificent third. What a goal that was. Any would be suitors (and there were scouts in the stands apparently from English clubs) would have taken note. The second half was sadly a bit of a non-event, with us happy to take a 3-0 and them just not having the quality to mount any kind of comeback. I think it summed it up when we started singing "we're not even trying" as a taunt at the Dees. Obviously the major talking point is the sending off. From my vantagepoint it was hard to see what happened, but it was clear that the Dundee player lashed out. What prompted that I don't know although I've been told Russell had a wee kick out. However I've also been told that it was nothing from both players so I'm looking forward to seeing the highlights tonight.

The players themselves, I thought JR was the top man with Dillon and Barry Douglas having solid games. Gunning and Watson were all over the place though, especially first half. It looked to me like the occassion got to them a little bit and I think Watson settled better in the second half. The midfield was tidy enough although we did miss GMS (fingers crossed he's back soon - i'm hearing 4-6 weeks out ).

Anyway, a cracking day and I'm already looking forward to the return at Dens. It's the kind of day the SPL needs.