Dundee earned their first victory in six matches after edging out Motherwell in a scrappy encounter at Fir Park.

Lyall Cameron powered home the only goal of the game in the 37th minute.

The home side pressed for a leveller in the closing stages but found opportunities at a premium.

A first away success of the season lifts Dundee into the top half of the Premiership table, while Well drop to fifth.

Tony Docherty shuffled his pack following Dundee’s late collapse in their 3-2 defeat to Kilmarnock last time out.

The Dees boss made four changes, including a change in goal as Trevor Carson replaced Jon McCracken.

Motherwell were forced to make one change as they aimed to record their fourth successive win in all competition, injured skipper Paul McGinn making way for Dan Casey.

A crucial tackle from Clark Robertson prevented Zach Robinson from latching on to Andy Halliday’s through ball in the opening minutes.

The hosts were almost the architects of their own downfall when some slack play between Lennon Miller and Liam Gordon allowed Simon Murray to advance into a promising position – but his low shot was comfortably gathered by Aston Oxborough.

Motherwell were looking threatening and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos’ header from Miller’s cross snuck inches wide of the target.

Having already played a key role in keeping the hosts out, Robertson really should have broken the deadlock at the other end in the 15th minute.

The home defence were caught cold at a corner, allowing the defender to meet Murray’s knock down before blasting over the top.

Most of Dundee’s threat was coming from set-piece situations, with the hosts struggling to combat their physical approach. Scott Fraser’s free-kick allowed Billy Koumetio to ghost in at the back-post and nod the ball inches past the post.

The opening goal arrived seven minutes before the break. Murray’s header was brilliantly blocked by Ewan Murray, though Cameron was on hand to slam home the rebound.

Stuart Kettlewell changed up his forward line at half-time, introducing Moses Ebiye and Tony Watt for Robinson and Stamatelopoulos.

However, the momentum continued to be with the Dark Blues. A rasping drive by Curtis Main forced a brilliant reaction save from Oxborough.

Next to go close was Murray, who failed to find the target after breaching the Well back-line – dragging his strike wide.

After a quiet first hour, Miller almost played a part in dragging the Steelmen level when he picked out Ebiye who failed to make a proper connection with his glancing header.

The youngster had an effort of his own with 17 minutes remaining – a powerful drive that forced Carson to throw himself across his goal and punch to safety.

The Dee goal was living a charmed life as the game entered the final 10 minutes. Jair Tavares passed up a golden opportunity when he blazed over after the away defence failed to clear their lines, before Gordon had a weak effort smothered by the keeper.

Seven minutes of added time brought some renewed energy among the home fans, though a laboured ending brought little in the way of chances.