Dundee enjoyed another memorable trip across the road as they secured a deserved 2-0 derby victory away to Dundee United to move joint-top of the fledgling Scottish Premiership table.

Drey Wright opened the scoring late in the first half before Owen Bevan notched after the break as the Dark Blues made it three wins in their last four visits to Tannadice.

Steven Pressley's side are now level with Celtic and St Mirren on the six-point mark, albeit having played a game more than most of their rivals, after making it two wins from their opening three league matches.

By contrast, United endured a demoralising evening as they went down to a third straight defeat in all competitions to remain second-bottom with just one point from their three Premiership matches.

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Terrors boss Jim Goodwin made six changes to the side that lost 4-0 to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup, including restoring influential left-back Will Ferry after a minor injury.

There was just one enforced tweak to the Dundee side that lost to Aberdeen in the same competition, with Alan Forrest replacing Simon Murray after the captain sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage at Pittodrie.

Swiss striker Bradley Fink, who finalised a season-long loan move from Wycombe earlier in the day, was listed among the substitutes.

Despite being sidelined for the foreseeable future, veteran forward Murray joined his team-mates to make the traditional short pre-match walk from Dens Park to Tannadice.

The visitors had the first two notable attempts, with forwards Charlie Reilly and Joe Westley both going close with efforts from outside the box.

United's first chance came in the 28th minute when Vicko Sevelj's header from a Mehdi Merghem corner was pushed away by Owen Goodman.

Dee defender Ryan Astley then made a brilliant challenge in the six-yard box to stop Idjessi Metsoko turning in Merghem's low delivery from the right.

Dundee made the breakthrough in the 43rd minute when Wright seized on a loose pass from Abdoulaye Yoro just inside his own half and surged forward before unleashing a powerful shot into Jack Walton's bottom right-hand corner from 20 yards out.

Yoro had a chance to redeem himself early in the second half but his low effort from the angle of the six-yard box was superbly saved by Goodman. A couple of minutes later, the Dundee keeper appeared to be struck by a vape as he retrieved the ball to take a goal-kick in front of the United fans.

The Dark Blues doubled their lead in the 57th minute when Bevan inadvertently diverted the ball over the line from close range with his heel after team-mate Forrest drilled an angled shot across the face of goal from 10 yards following a corner from Fin Robertson that was not dealt with by the hosts.

United knocked on the door in the closing stages but Dundee rarely looked like relinquishing their sense of authority.

What the managers said...

Dundee manager Steven Pressley:

"I was probably a bit more animated than usual today because we obviously set out with a tactical game plan and we carried virtually none of it out.

"Truth be told, I didn't see evidence of hardly any of our detail today, but what it did show me is that derby games are not won on tactical detail.

"They're won on courage, they're won on determination, they're won on grit, all the things that my players served up today, so I couldn't be prouder.

"We've spoken in the week about how we find ways to win away from home, and I think that was a good example of it. You don't always need to play particularly well, but when you show that determination you've got a chance."

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin:

"I know what this game is all about, at the end of the day, it's all about winning games, results are what matter most.

"I don't need to look at the stats from the game today to see that we've probably had more possession of the ball, more attempts on goal, more penalty box entries, more dangerous attacks.

"But it counts for nothing if we don't have the three points to show for it at the end of it."

What the result means and next fixtures...

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