Victory moves them eight points away from the bottom and leaves Dundee without a goal or point in Jim McIntyre’s four games in charge.

Dundee showed decent intent as an attacking force at times but again lacked a cutting edge and Motherwell had the better of the play even before stepping up their urgency after the break.

Both teams lined up with 4-4-2 formations and there was a flurry of early action inside each goalmouth either side of Gael Bigirimana’s strike, which was pushed away by Dundee goalkeeper Jack Hamilton.

The visitors came closest to a first-half goal when Darren O’Dea headed Calvin Miller’s corner off the bar but Motherwell threatened more often. Turnbull and Carl McHugh were not far off target with shots and a couple of deep Bigirimana corners caused problems.

The hosts stepped up a gear after the break and created an early chance when Turnbull’s pass got Curtis Main in behind. The striker squared the ball in the direction of partner Ryan Bowman but Andy Boyle made a vital interception and Hamilton grabbed the ball on the line.

Motherwell kept up the pressure. Turnbull and Bowman had efforts blocked before the latter headed just wide of the far post from Chris Cadden’s cross.

Dundee, with Ryan Inniss on for the injured O’Dea, came out of the difficult period unscathed and Hamilton saved from Bowman when the striker might have squared for substitute Danny Johnson.

But Turnbull delivered the piece of quality the game was crying out for when he collected the ball in between the Dundee midfield and defence after some sharp passing from the hosts. The midfielder drove forward with only one thing on his mind and his ambitious strike rose into the top corner.

Motherwell could have finished off the contest but Cadden shot over with the visitors heavily outnumbered on the break.

Dundee pressed in the closing stages but they went down to 10 men when Boyle left the field on a stretcher following a challenge with Allan Campbell and Motherwell withstood the pressure.

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