Dundee 0
Dundee Utd 5
League (Division One)

Match Report

United went into the first league derby of the 1965/66 season only ten days after losing to their bitter rivals 3-1 in a League Cup tie at Tannadice. However having won their last three league games at Dens, the Terrors were quietly confident that they could pick up a badly needed result to end a run of four defeats on the bounce. One of manager Jerry Kerr’s main tactical alterations for the clash against Dundee was to hand 17 year-old half-back Frannie Munro the task of marking the Dark Blues’ record signing Charlie Cooke. United would also have to keep an eye on the Dens Park side’s latest signing: a 28 year old inside forward by the name of Jim McLean who had signed for Dundee for £12,000 from Clyde during the week.

Jerry Kerr’s side were quick out of the blocks with most of the play in the early exchanges taking place in the Dundee half with both Persson and Døssing both going close to opening the scoring. Young Frannie Munro also managed to get forward despite his responsibilities in defence and was unlucky when he found time and space to get the better of Dark Blue centre-half Jim Easton only to see his shot go wide of the target. Considering United’s early dominance it was no surprise when they eventually took the lead in the 14th minute. The impressive Persson was impeded by Easton and from the resulting free-kick Lennart Wing floated the ball into the box. Persson got his head on the end of Wing’s delivery with the Dundee defence unable to clear the ball and the ever-alert Finn Døssing reacted quickest, stopping low to nod into the net. As the Courier put it after the game, Dundee lacked any real aggressive team spirit during the match and in the first half the home side could only muster a few tame efforts which were all easily dealt with by Don Mackay as United continued to dominate proceedings.

Having gone in at half time with a one goal lead – which arguably should have been more – United came out for the start of the second half and picked up where they had left off and within ten minutes had extended their lead. Finn Døssing controlled the ball well after Lennart Wing had directed it to him from a Benny Ronney corner and the Danish goal machine instinctively turned and fired past Ally Donaldson to make it 2-0 to the Terrors. The Dundee defence’s over-elaborate passing out from the back was costing them dear as United’s attackers continued to stretch them and exploit any gaps in the increasingly unconvincing back-line. The third goal wasn’t long in coming: a shot from Persson was headed off the line by Bobby Cox but the ball only went as far as Munro who squared for Dennis Gillespie to finish and make it 3-0 to United. Despite Jerry Kerr’s side’s domination the score still read 3-0 going into the final few minutes but the torture was not yet over for Dundee and their dispirited supporters. Finn Døssing - who had desperately been trying to complete his hat-trick – finally scored his third of the day after being denied several times by Ally Donaldson but it was the Dundee keeper who was at fault on this occasion as he fumbled a relatively tame effort over the line in the 87th minute. The rout was completed only a minute later when Persson – who had given Scotland international full back Alex Hamilton a torrid time all afternoon – was brought down in the box by Bobby Cox. From the resulting penalty-kick Lennart Wing stepped up to confidently slot home United’s fifth goal of the game and compound Dundee’s misery.

This result was United’s biggest ever Dundee Derby win and will forever be remembered by Arabs as ‘the Dens Park Massacre of 1965’. A song was even written in honour of this famous derby victory and Dundee fans of certain age still have nightmares whenever the name ‘Finn Døssing’ is mentioned.