Tait accepts the officials’ team effort on red card

RICHARD TAIT believes St Mirren must accept Joe Shaughnessy’s controversial red card after the officials worked as a ‘team’. The Irish defender was sent off for a hefty challenge on Ross County striker Ross Stewart midway through the second half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw in Paisley. Rookie Premiership referee Mike Roncone initially waved play on but fourth official Willie Collum intervened and the defender was dismissed. Left-back Tait insists the Buddies must savour their point after Jon Obika’s early strike was cancelled out by a Nathan Sheron own goal. ‘Listen, the referee has to make a decision,’ said the former Motherwell man, who joined St Mirren this summer. ‘He’s there to control the game and, if that’s the way he feels, when decisions like that are made, you just have to accept it and get on with it. ‘They’re a team like us. There’s a fourth official for a reason. ‘They and the assistants make a decision and we have to accept it. Joe is all right. I think he just went in there and he thought he made a good tackle. But it’s been and gone and we got a point out of the game. ‘When you go down to ten men and get a point, it’s a positive one. ‘The togetherness we showed after the red card — it happens in football and you just have to stick together. We showed that for the last 30 minutes. ‘Everyone on that pitch is fighting for the same cause. It was good to see — we stuck together and got the point.’ Tait saved his team early in the second half with a sensational goal-line clearance to thwart Stewart’s headed effort. The full-back said: ‘Stewart’s great in the air and I knew he was going to win it. I was in the position where it went, so there was some luck in it, too.’