Dundee were furious at the final whistle, with several players receiving yellow cards for dissent.

Instead of manager Docherty doing his usual post-match media duties, assistant manager Stuart Taylor took over.

When asked why he was there for media duties, Taylor replied, “The manager gave the lads a great speech and got everyone ready for Sunday’s game.”

“I think it’s a great talking point for everyone again after the last couple of weeks, so there’s no point in saying anything else.

“The manager knocked on the referee’s door, but I’m not sure what was said.

Tony Docherty meets the referee team after the final whistle. Image: David Young/Action Plus/Shutterstock

“There is confusion and disbelief among the players, but they are a great group of boys who are strong.

“There have been many instances this season where they should have been disappointed with decisions, but they have bounced back.

“It’s about doing the talking on the pitch, that’s the response we got at the end of the game there – we go again on Sunday.”

Staggies Storm

Clark Robertson returned for Dundee after being dropped for the weekend’s defeat at Kilmarnock. Aaron Donnelly, his replacement at Rugby Park, was dropped from the squad altogether.

Seun Adewumi impressed enough as a substitute at Killie to earn a recall to the starting XI, replacing Scott Tiffoney.

A win would ensure Dundee’s safety; defeat was unthinkable.

The high stakes seemed to bring out the nerves in the home team, as Ross County started much brighter.

Set pieces flew into the home box, with Simon Murray doing more in front of his own goal than the opposition’s, clearing a number of corner kicks.

Dundee had to be on their toes defensively in the first half. Image: Ross Parker/SNS

He did have a chance at the other goal when he latched onto a short backpass, but his effort from the tightest of angles was saved by Kacper Lopata.

Just as the hosts appeared to have woken up, Ross County had the best two chances of the half.

Hale first caused the Dee backline to backpedal before his deflected effort clipped the top of Trevor Carson’s crossbar. Akil Wright headed over from yards out following the resulting corner kick.

Dundee let out a huge sigh of relief after that, but went on to finish the half stronger.

Adewumi set up Seb Palmer-Houlden on a breakaway, but Jordan Amissah made a fantastic save to keep his effort out of the top corner.

 

VAR’s fury

When shooting downhill towards the Bob Shankly Stand, Dundee scored a quality moment that changed the game.

Lyall Cameron created that moment with a perfectly weighted throughball in behind the County defence for Tiffoney.

The half-time substitute demonstrated composure by coolly slotting the ball under Amissah, giving his team a crucial lead.

Scott Tiffoney finds the net to put Dundee in front. Image: Ross Parker/SNS

That energised the home team, and the County custodian was undoubtedly the busier of the two in the second half.

He denied Palmer-Houlden and then Joe Shaughnessy within seconds of each other, forcing Dundee’s captain to leave with a head injury.

Amissah then turned Clark Robertson’s header around the post and denied Murray late on.

Hale had a great chance for Ross County but blazed wide on the 70th minute.

The final few minutes were nerve-racking, but Dundee appeared to have weathered the storm.

Ronan Hale fires home to make it 1-1 at Dens Park. Image: Ross Parker/SNS

Until referee Nick Walsh noticed the ball flick the arm of Portales.

VAR did not overturn the decision, and Hale made up for his earlier miss by smashing in the equaliser with 95 minutes remaining.

Joe Shaughnessy

Dundee’s survival in the Premiership is still uncertain following the leveller.

But Taylor insists the Dark Blues are still in a good position: “It’s in our hands right now; we’re in a good position, and if we take care of Sunday’s game, we’ll be fine.

“The Ross County custodian made some fantastic saves.

“The positive for us is we asked the lads to be brave, be creative and they did that because we hemmed them in at times.”

Joe Shaughnessy went off in the second half after a clash of heads. Image: Ross Parker/SNS

Dundee had to cope without captain Joe Shaughnessy, who was forced off with a head knock on 64 minutes.

However, it is unlikely to keep him out of the crucial match against St Johnstone on Sunday.

“Joe has a couple of stitches in his eye,” explained Taylor.

“Joe is a leader, our captain, a warrior, and he’s ready to fight again.

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