# 2002–03 Dundee F.C. season

The 2002–03 season saw Dundee compete in the Scottish Premier League where they finished in 6th position with 44 points. They also reached the 2003 Scottish Cup Final where they lost 1–0 to Rangers.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 57 | |
| 5 | Dunfermline Athletic | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 46 | |
| 6 | Dundee | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 44 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Hibernian | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 56 | 64 | −8 | 51 | |
| 8 | Aberdeen | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 49 | |
* ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
* ↑ As Rangers, the 2002–03 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dundee, the cup runners-up

## Results

Dundee's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Scottish Premier League

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 3 August 2002 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–1 | 7,705 | Caballero 65' |
| 2 | 10 August 2002 | Rangers | A | 0–3 | 47,004 | |
| 3 | 17 August 2002 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 2–4 | 5,901 | Novo (2) 22', 58' |
| 4 | 24 August 2002 | Hibernian | H | 2–1 | 6,411 | Caballero 79', Lovell 90' |
| 5 | 31 August 2002 | Dundee United | A | 0–0 | 12,402 | |
| 6 | 11 September 2002 | Livingston | H | 2–1 | 5,391 | Novo 52', Rae 77' |
| 7 | 14 September 2002 | Partick Thistle | A | 1–1 | 4,552 | Rae 50' |
| 8 | 22 September 2002 | Celtic | H | 0–1 | 9,483 | |
| 9 | 28 September 2002 | Motherwell | A | 1–1 | 4,025 | Lovell 14' |
| 10 | 5 October 2002 | Kilmarnock | H | 2–1 | 5,567 | Rae 67', Caballero 90' |
| 11 | 19 October 2002 | Aberdeen | A | 0–0 | 14,003 | |
| 12 | 26 October 2002 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 2–1 | 10,169 | Lovell (2) 26', 67' |
| 13 | 2 November 2002 | Rangers | H | 0–3 | 10,124 | |
| 14 | 12 November 2002 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 2–3 | 5,475 | Nicholson 8' (o.g.), Lovell 19' |
| 15 | 16 November 2002 | Hibernian | A | 1–2 | 8,870 | Novo 90' |
| 16 | 23 November 2002 | Dundee United | H | 3–2 | 11,539 | Caballero (2) 11', 30', Hernández 55' |
| 17 | 30 November 2002 | Livingston | A | 1–1 | 5,307 | Novo 72' |
| 18 | 4 December 2002 | Partick Thistle | H | 4–1 | 5,363 | Brady 38', Sara 51', Lovell (2) 67', 75' |
| 19 | 7 December 2002 | Kilmarnock | A | 0–2 | 4,810 | |
| 20 | 14 December 2002 | Motherwell | H | 1–1 | 5,527 | Sara 35' |
| 21 | 21 December 2002 | Celtic | A | 0–2 | 56,162 | |
| 22 | 26 December 2002 | Aberdeen | H | 1–2 | 8,574 | Milne 87' |
| 23 | 29 December 2002 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 1–2 | 7,340 | Milne 57' |
| 24 | 2 January 2003 | Rangers | A | 1–3 | 49,112 | Lovell 23' |
| 25 | 28 January 2003 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 1–0 | 4,237 | Nicholson 13' |
| 26 | 9 February 2003 | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | 10,457 | Novo 30' |
| 27 | 25 February 2003 | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | 8,414 | Rae 9', Milne 86', Murray 90' (o.g.) |
| 28 | 1 March 2003 | Partick Thistle | A | 3–1 | 4,599 | Milne 15', Mackay 26', Novo 78' |
| 29 | 5 March 2003 | Livingston | H | 0–0 | 7,554 | |
| 30 | 8 March 2003 | Kilmarnock | H | 2–2 | 6,531 | Wilkie 39', Milne 41' |
| 31 | 15 March 2003 | Aberdeen | A | 3–3 | 12,119 | Lovell 16', Caballero 24', Wilkie 81' |
| 32 | 6 April 2003 | Celtic | H | 1–1 | 9,013 | Burchill 20' |
| 33 | 12 April 2003 | Motherwell | A | 2–1 | 4,963 | Burchill 2', Milne 24' |
| 34 | 27 April 2003 | Kilmarnock | H | 0–1 | 5,964 | |
| 35 | 4 May 2003 | Rangers | H | 2–2 | 9,195 | Caballero (2) 17', 28' |
| 36 | 10 May 2003 | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 2–2 | 5,411 | Lovell (2) 17', 58' |
| 37 | 14 May 2003 | Celtic | A | 2–6 | 57,542 | Smith 26', Mair 90' |
| 38 | 25 May 2003 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 0–1 | 12,205 | |

### Scottish Cup

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R3 | 25 January 2003 | Partick Thistle | H | 2–0 | 4,825 | Nemsadze 14', Rae 82' |
| R4 | 22 February 2003 | Aberdeen | H | 2–0 | 7,549 | Lovell 22', Novo 41' |
| Quarter final | 22 March 2003 | Falkirk | A | 1–1 | 7,403 | Novo 66' |
| Quarter final Replay | 9 April 2003 | Falkirk | H | 4–1 (AET) | 9,562 | Caballero 44', Burchill 94', Lovell (2) 99', 107' |
| Semi final | 20 April 2003 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | A | 1–0 | 14,429 | Nemsadze 78' |
| Final | 31 May 2003 | Rangers | N | 0–1 | 47,136 | |

### Scottish League Cup

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R2 | 25 September 2002 | Queen of the South | H | 3–1 | 2,190 | Sara (2) 17', 39', Caballero 21' |
| R3 | 22 October 2002 | Partick Thistle | A | 0–1 | 2,652 | |