Duffy's words translated into victory

RAY HEPBURN

15 Nov 1993

TEAM talks at Dens Park tend to be a prolonged, complicated business these days. 

Coach Jim Duffy, as he is referred to by Dundee's Canadian chairman Gordon Dickson, would be tearing his hair out, if he had any.

Having a Pole, a Czechoslovak, and a Croatian in the team tends to make communication difficult, comical at best, impossible at worst.

Czech Dusan Vrto, their best player in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle, speaks a little English and a lot of German. 

He also holds a handful of aces when wage bargaining starts.

Dusan takes Duffy's instructions and translates them roughly into German, which Polish international Piotr Czachowski understands with a lot of difficulty.

Croat Dragutin Ristic meanwhile has a smattering of Italian and appears to catch up with the gist of coach Duffy's thoughts as they make the precarious trip through four languages.

At Tynecastle, all that appeared to have been overcome when the simplicity of the game itself took over from the often over-elaborate tactical preamble.

For the foreigners and a few of coach Duffy's home-grown players have clearly grasped the basic rule that if you keep the ball moving between players in your team, success is likely.

While Dundee's team were accurate and fairly swift with their distribution, the Hearts lads perfected the art of giving the ball, even over minimum distances, straight to an opponent or out of play. 

Their performance was totally mystifying after a spell when they had performed with increasing efficiency in matches against Hibernian, Rangers, and Dundee United.

Manager Sandy Clark will want to address the organisational sloppiness that saw players constantly pulled out of position, leaving Dundee with acres of space in which to perfect their game.

Clark may feel on reflection that the whole thing was too bad to be true. 

Teaching seasoned internationalists how to deliver the ball 10 yards should not be part of his week's work.

However, the day belonged to Dundee. 

Fifer Paul Ritchie shot them ahead in the eighth minute and Czachowski clipped the winner past Hearts best player, Nicky Walker, after 66 minutes.

Seemingly cut adrift at the foot of the premier-division table just a few weeks ago, victories over Kilmarnock, Hibs, and now Hearts in their last five games have given the Tayside team new optimism.

As they journeyed north on Saturday night Duffy was justified in telling his players: "You played very well. 

Sie haben sehr gut gespielen," for Dusan.

Dragutin and Piotr will have received their compliment by tomorrow morning.

Taken from the Herald