PENALTY IS A SORE POINT FOR HARTLEY
YOU have to go back more than 10 years to January 2005 to find the last time Dundee beat Inverness Caley Thistle.
So, after one win in their previous 16 encounters, there was a sense of inevitability that Rory Loy’s 50th-minute penalty kick would not be enough to improve on that sorry statistic.
And so it proved when 10-man Inverness overcame the loss of defender David Raven to equalise through Greg Tansey — also from the spot — midway through the second half.
But Dundee manager Paul Hartley virtually accused Celtic-bound Ryan Christie of cheating by conning referee Brian Colvin in a version of Trick or Treat.
Christie was moving away from goal when he went down under a challenge from Kevin Holt in the 64th minute, and Hartley hit out: ‘It was a penalty for us, but it never was for them.
‘The referee has been conned. I’ve seen the footage back and there’s no contact whatsoever. The referee has possibly evened it up because there’s no contact at all.
‘We had controlled the game up to that point against 10 men, but they were given a lifeline.’
Counterpart John Hughes felt equally hard done by, judging by his assessment of Raven’s red card and the award of a spot-kick for a challenge on Greg Stewart.
‘For me, there were no penalties and it wasn’t a red card,’ said Hughes. ‘David Raven is one of the most honest guys and he got his toe on the ball, so how is it a red card?
‘It was the same referee we had against St Johnstone last December when he sent off Ross Draper and gave a penalty when Brian Graham dived.
‘I feel for the referee because I think he made a mistake. I think he made a few and it changed the dynamics of the game. If we had kept 11 on the pitch, we could have gone on and won.
‘It was a double whammy, the red card and them scoring. But we got a little bit of luck with our penalty and that might be the turning point in terms of things going for us.’
Substitute Kane Hemmings would have won it for Dundee — after Holt had set him up for a long-range drive — but for Owain Fon Williams being in the right spot at the right time to block the shot without knowing very much about it.
Liam Polworth had an even clearer view of goal but blasted wide of the target when presented with a match-winning chance for Inverness seven minutes from time.
And Hughes added: ‘He should have hit the target. Credit him with getting into that position, but he choked a little bit and he’s sitting in the dressing room a little disappointed.’
An ordering off, two penalties and a goal disallowed may suggest otherwise, but desperation was the mother of invention in the absence of a spark of inspiration to transform a dull and dreary affair, lacking both flair and imagination.
While Hughes might also have offered an argument about the referee’s decision to disallow Josh Meekings’ header from Tansey’s free-kick in the 35th minute — had he so chosen after photographic evidence suggested the official’s offside call was incorrect — Raven’s challenge on Stewart from behind was ill-advised.
It resulted in a straight red followed by Loy finding the bottom-left corner of the net after Fon Williams had gambled by diving to his opposite side five minutes into the second half.
But at least Inverness avoided a third straight home defeat in the space of eight days, following their back-to-back losses to St Johnstone and local rivals Ross County in their League Cup quarter-final clash.
The spectacle — if the match could be called one — was utterly devoid of entertainment for the first 20 minutes, with Stewart supplying the one moment worth recalling when he tested Fon Williams with a cross.
But with the crowd’s frustration growing, Christie offered hope of better things to come when he chested down Danny Williams’ cross from the right after 22 minutes.
But Thomas Konrad intervened to deny the highly promising 21-year-old the chance to supply a finish.
However, Christie was suddenly motivated and he proceeded to tee up a header for Danny Devine with an expertly judged free-kick, but the latter directed his effort straight at Scott Bain.
Bain appeared blessed with magnetic powers when Christie steered a shot directly into the goalkeeper’s path before Meekings thought he had scored.
After Loy had given Dundee the lead the Caley Thistle players were noticeably deflated.
However, they enjoyed an unexpected stroke of good fortune when Holt inexplicably brought down Christie and Tansey converted from the penalty spot to secure a point for the hosts.