Dundee will head into the international break boosted by a narrow 2-1 victory over Motherwell at Dens Park.
Joe Westley and Bradley Fink gave Dundee a two-goal cushion but the Steelmen hit back just before the break through Alex Lowry.
Both sides had chances in the second half but, despite a nervy finish, the Dark Blues held on to take all three points to move up to fourth in the table with their first win in four while Motherwell have now lost three league games in a row.
The hosts made two changes to the team that lost to Hearts a fortnight ago with Jack Moorhouse and Callum Jones coming in for Ryan Finnigan and Fin Robertson, who both suffered injuries at Tynecastle.
Westley was also in the home starting line-up despite fracturing a cheekbone against the Jam Tarts with the striker wearing a protective mask.
The visitors drafted in Ibrahim Said and Seb Palmer-Houlden for Regan Charles-Cook and Jardell Kanga following the heavy defeat to Aberdeen in midweek.
The Steelmen had a chance in just the third minute when Lukas Fadinger hit a shot from the edge of the Dundee box with goalkeeper Owen Goodman diving to his right to palm to safety.
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However, the home fans finally had something to shout about in the 23rd minute. Referee Ross Hardie was called over to the pitchside monitor by the VAR for a possible hand ball in the visitors’ box by Emmanuel Longelo.
Hardie decided to point to the spot with Westley stepping up to take the penalty. Motherwell keeper Alex Paulsen dived the right way and got two hands on the ball but was unable to keep it out of the back of the net.
The hosts came close to doubling their advantage when Fink was sent racing through on goal down the left but his low, angled shot cannoned off the far post.
However, the Dark Blues extended their lead in the 40th minute. Ryan Astley smashed a cross in from the right towards Fink, who glanced a header towards goal. The keeper seemed to leave it but the ball cannoned off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
Motherwell responded four minutes later when Tom Sparrow found Lowry inside the Dundee box and he took a touch before clinically finishing past Goodman.
Dundee sparked into life in the 60th minute when Drey Wright played a great ball into Alan Forrest with the winger then finding Westley, who hit a fierce shot that Paulsen tipped over the bar.
The keeper then made an even better stop when he pulled off a great reaction save to keep out a powerful Astley back-post header.
In the 88th minute, Goodman had to come to Dundee’s rescue twice in quick succession to tip over an attempted clearance from Idris Odutayo before making another vital stop from a Martin Moormann header.
