Motherwell lost their third Scottish Premiership game in a row as Dundee made the most of two goalkeeping mistakes to clinch victory at a blustery Dens Park.

Joe Westley, playing with a fractured cheekbone amid a Dundee injury crisis, scored from the spot after a harsh handball penalty was given against Emmanuel Longelo.

Alex Paulsen got two hands to Westley's spot-kick, but the ball still squirmed into the net.

If that wasn't great, the Motherwell goalkeeper's next error was even worse.

Bradley Fink got his head to a fierce cross from Ryan Astley, and initially it looked like it was going wide. Paulsen was waving it past, but the ball spun off the turf and kissed a post before nestling in the net.

Alex Lowry got a goal back for Alfred Johansson's side, firing in after controlling a cross in the box, but there would be no further route to goal for Motherwell.

That was despite them controlling possession for almost the entire second half. They passed and passed and passed around the Dundee box, but only tested Owen Goodman once or twice - apart from the late onslaught of corners.

Instead, it was Dundee who looked more threatening when they occasionally forayed forward, with Paulsen denying Westley and Astley in quick succession.

It's early days, but Dundee are up to fourth and now have three weeks to rest and recover from their spate of injuries.

A lot is made of aura in the modern world, and a lot has been made of Steven Pressley's aura in the dugout.

As his side went 2-0 up, the camera panned to the Dundee head coach, who was scribbling furiously in his Moleskine notebook.

He might have just been writing down 'nailed it'.

Pressley, who has called this period one of the "most challenging" he's had as a head coach due to his lengthy injury list, got it spot on against Motherwell.

Quite happy to let Motherwell knock it around, Dundee relied on defensive solidity to repel the visitors time and time again. When they went forward, they seemed to carry more threat and confidence than their visitors.

All this, despite having at least five first-choice players out injured.

Pressley has said he "loves" this group and how they respond to adversity. They've proved why again.

A lot of nice passing, a lot of possession, but Motherwell return to Lanarkshire with nothing to show for it.

At the moment, Johansson's men are a little too leaky and a little too frightened in front of goal. Although they were able to keep hold of Tawanda Maswanhise - last season's top scorer - the pressure is weighing on his shoulders.

They had 81 entries into the final third at Dens Park, but only 23 touches in the box. For context, Dundee had the same number of touches in Motherwell's box from just 36 final-third entries.

All that means is that Motherwell are not converting when they're getting into dangerous areas. There's a timidity and lack of confidence in the red zone.

Combine that with the second-poorest defensive record in the league, and you can see why Motherwell are on the run they're currently on.

The sliver of positivity? They started slowly under Jens Berthel Askou last season, as well. After seven games, they also had eight points - that was after five draws, one win and a defeat.

It's early days and the style of play is still attractive. There's plenty time for it come good.

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley: "For both teams, it was a really important game, especially considering we're going into the break. You always want to go into that on the back of a positive outcome.

"This time last year, we lost heavily to Aberdeen and it was a long couple of weeks to endure. It makes the weeks far more enjoyable."

Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson: "It's a frustrating game to lose, we did many things very well. Our build up is good, we have a lot of final third entries, playing diagonal balls to the fullbacks.

"Our left side created difficulties for Dundee. What was missing today was the end product. The last pass, the decision-making, the quality of the crossing, that's what was missing."