‘Absolutely baffling’ – Morton fume at referee
Kilmarnock edged five points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship, but required a hotly disputed spot-kick to earn a 1-1 draw against a spirited Morton side at Cappielow.
Gozie Ugwu’s headed opener for the home side on the hour mark was cancelled out just five minutes later when Oli Shaw converted from the spot for the away side.
The penalty was awarded by referee David Munro after the ball struck the arm of Morton defender Brian Mclean in the box, which was tucked by his side as he leaned to block a shot on goal.
Morton boss Dougie Imrie was stunned by the decision and blamed the official for costing his side the victory that has all but ended their hopes of mounting a late bid for the promotion play-offs.
“Absolutely baffling. I don’t even know what he's seen,” Imrie told the BBC. “You just get the same thing every week. They see it differently to everyone else.
“It’s a big decision that’s cost us three points because for the full 90 minutes we more than matched Kilmarnock.”
The incident was viewed entirely differently by Killie boss Derek Mcinnes, who felt his side deserved their point, despite coming under pressure from Morton throughout the match.
“My first thought is it was a stonewall penalty,” Mcinnes said.
“He’s turned his arm out and he’s blocked the shot. It was on target and whether it was going in or not doesn’t matter. The way the law is now, that’s a stonewall penalty kick. There’s no debate about it for me.
“I thought it was what we deserved. I thought Morton were very good in the game and they asked us a question. We had to defend 56 throwins and knew the type of game it was going to be. It was pretty brutal stuff. It was tough out there. We’ll take the point.”
In the other Championship fixture, Hamilton saw their play-off hopes suffer a blow after conceding a 94th-minute equaliser at Ayr United.
Kerr Mcinroy struck with virtually the last kick of the ball to snatch a 1-1 draw for the home side after Accies had led through Brian Winters’ sixth-minute opener.
In League Two, champions Kelty Hearts were held to a 1-1 draw at Edinburgh City.