SHAUGHNESSY OPEN TO A PENALTY PUNISHMENT

JOE SHAUGHNESSY rounded off a comfortable Betfred Cup win with some neat defensive work which should endear him to Scotland’s officials. The Perth full-back netted the third with a simple close-range finish on a day when referee Bobby Madden was the centre of attention after awarding three penalties in the space of 22 first-half minutes. While Bairns manager Peter Houston’s blood pressure went through the roof as his defenders were penalised for shirt-tugging in the penalty area, labelling the third award ‘a joke’, Shaughnessy admitted it would be good for the game if referees are being tasked with eradicating defensive dark arts this season. Liam Craig was denied an early opener by Falkirk keeper Danny Rogers after Tom Taiwo cleaned out Danny Swanson for a spot-kick of the stonewall category. Then Swanson took over to convert two subsequent penalties awarded by Madden for tugs on Irish centre-forward Graham Cummins. Shaughnessy (right) maintained Madden’s decisions were correct but he confessed Scotland’s defenders may have cause for concern if a crackdown is on the cards. ‘The incidents were things that do go on in every game,’ he said. ‘You try to get away with it but you know what the rules say, it’s just whether they get applied all the time. ‘This weekend the ref decided to apply them strictly and, in my opinion, it’s better if they’re like that because it will stop people fouling in the box. ‘As a defender, it definitely gives you something to think about going into the next game. ‘All it will take is penalties to be given and then folk will stop holding and pulling shirts at corners. ‘I think they’re going to clamp down on it in England this season and obviously it’s going to be the same up here. As long as it’s the same for everyone, then that’s fine. ‘And if I get penalised for doing it then I’ll have to hold my hands up and say fair enough because we’re all aware of the rules.’ Former Dundee United midfielder John Rankin and manager Houston accepted the Perth side had been superior to a Championship team which lost out to Kilmarnock in the play-offs last term. As for the penalty glut, debutant Rankin warned: ‘As players, all you want is consistency. ‘It can’t just be for the start of the season or for certain games, it has to be across the board. ‘If that’s the precedent they’ve set, it has to be maintained for the rest of the season.’ The Bairns rarely troubled the Perth defence, although keeper Alan Mannus did have to divert a raking 30-yarder from Rankin shortly after the interval. Striker Steven MacLean cheekily tried to claim the Perth side’s third in the 69th minute but former Aberdeen defender Shaughnessy clearly got the final touch as the Bairns again failed to cope with an aerial assault from their Premiership hosts.