Caley Thistle’s weekend hosts Dundee are third in the Championship – but have won eight of their 11 fixtures in all competitions so far.
Last season’s relegated Premiership side breezed through their Premier Sports Cup groups, seeing off Hamilton, Queen’s Park, Stranraer and Forfar Athletic without any fuss.
When the real business, in terms of the Championship, kicked off, the Dark Blues fell to a 3-2 home defeat against Ian McCall’s Partick Thistle.
The Jags roared into a three-goal lead within 50 minutes before replies from Cammy Kerr and Tyler French almost yielded a remarkable opening day recovery.
A 1-0 victory at Raith was followed by a hard-earned 4-2 win against last season’s Championship runners-up Arbroath as late goals from Zach Robinson and Josh Mulligan earned them three points after they had been pegged back from 2-0 up.
Ayr stormed back for three points
A decent 0-0 draw at Morton prevented a push further up the division and it was perhaps the 3-1 loss at current leaders Ayr United, which would concern manager Gary Bowyer most so far.
Zak Rudden gave Dundee an early advantage, but Ayr’s impressive front-man Dipo Akinyemi bagged a brace and Jordan Houston finished the job for the Honest Men.
That Friday night showdown in front of the BBC Scotland cameras perhaps said as much about Ayr’s strengths as any Dundee’s weaknesses.
Three second half goals earned a 3-0 League Cup success against League 1 visitors Falkirk, which secured a quarter-final crack at Rangers on October 19.
They kept to within four points of the summit in their last match as Zach Robinson’s first half double and a goal from Zak Rudden ensured another 3-0 home win, this time against Owen Coyle’s well-drilled newcomers Queen’s Park, who occupy fourth spot, trailing Dundee only on goal difference.
Dundee boss shaping side up well
Bowyer was brought to the Dens Park hot-seat after Mark McGhee failed to keep the Taysiders from being the automatic droppers from the top-table.
McGhee took over from James McPake, who was sacked, despite winning two games just prior to his dismissal.
Former Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City and Salford City manager Bowyer, assisted by Billy Barr, has been recruited by chairman John Nelms and technical director Gordon Strachan to drive Dundee back within one season.
In May, Kilmarnock managed a swift return after just one year out, albeit with a mid-season change of boss and Derek McInnes taking them on to title success.
Striker Rudden, who had been on loan since January from Partick Thistle, officially became a Dundee player in the summer. He only scored one goal for the club before the end of last season, but has three already this term.
Bowyer brought in AFC Wimbledon’s Robinson on loan and he has notched four goals from just seven appearances, including the brace against Queen’s Park last time out. The second goal in that game was a sweet strike from distance.
Other summer arrivals at Dens Park include centre-half French, who has come in from Wrexham, defender Joe Grayson, who is on loan from Barrow, and a season-long loan deal for Rangers midfielder Ben Wiliamson.
Win over Rovers was big ICT boost
Fifth-placed Caley Thistle trail Dundee by two places and two points going into Saturday’s Tayside clash, so the value of an away win is clear to see against the title favourites, who will be eager to put their foot on the pedal against a direct rival.
However, the Highlanders’ clinical 2-0 victory on their travels against Raith Rovers last time out will give Billy Dodds every reason to believe this team can return no further behind at worst.
Back-to-back league losses against Partick Thistle and Morton saw ICT slide down the division, but injuries to key men such as skipper Sean Welsh, Danny Devine, Tom Walsh, Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels to name just five bites hard into a thin squad.
Devine was back at the heart of the defence alongside Robbie Deas, with Wallace Duffy, left, and Zak Delaney, right.
David Carson and Scott Allardice sat just in front of the back four, with Cammy Harper in an advanced left-sided, yet fluid, midfield role, Steven Boyd alongside him and winger Dan MacKay working his magic on the right.
On-loan Hibs winger MacKay won the penalty, from which Allardice opened the scoring, then lined up Billy Mckay for his 84th goal for the club, leaving only legendary Dennis Wyness ahead of him on 101.
The good news for this weekend is Dodds has three men back in the fold following various spells on the sidelines through injury, with defender Zak Delaney, midfielder Aaron Doran and forward Austin Samuels boosting his options.
Dundee have growing belief in what they’re capable of, but so do Caley Thistle and they will travel with confidence for this one.
Conversation