Garner is a lethal weapon
Garner should have been sent off for ‘cage-fighting leg-breaker’ challenge on me, says furious Accies star Imrie
DOUGIE IMRIE hit out at Rangers striker Joe Garner for the ‘leg-breaker’ challenge on him that the Hamilton midfielder claimed belonged in cage fighting rather than a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie.
Garner replaced Kenny Miller at the interval and scored a second-half hat-trick as Rangers romped into the last four with a 6-0 success at Ibrox over Accies.
But Imrie was fuming with the ultra combative striker for the reckless lunge that he insisted should have resulted in a red card.
Garner had just made it 2-0 to Rangers, doubling a first-half lead handed to them by Martyn Waghorn’s penalty, when he clattered into the Hamilton veteran.
Minutes later, the Englishman clashed with Blair Adams, forcing the Accies defender to be substituted and Garner to have seven stitches inserted in a head wound.
When asked if Garner should still have been on the pitch to complete his hat-trick, Imrie said: ‘In my opinion, no. The linesman is four yards away, the referee is five yards away. Don’t get me wrong, referees have a hard job to do but those are the decisions that change games.
‘He (Garner) went on to score a hat-trick. If he was sent off, then he doesn’t score three goals and who is to say we can’t get something out of the game if they are down to 10 men? We have an extra man and could
maybe put pressure on them. The refs have a hard job but it’s disappointing they’re so close to the incident and don’t get it correct.
‘He’s just on the park, it’s a few minutes into the second half and there’s nothing in it. I don’t know if we are in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Are we in the UFC? It’s disappointing.
‘I think it was nearly a leg breaker as he caught me quite high. One thing I will say is that if that was me or (team-mate) Darian MacKinnon, then we would be off the park. We’ll leave it at that.’
Garner’s eventful afternoon made it seven bookings and seven goals in Rangers colours since signing from Preston in August.
Yesterday’s caution rules him out of Sunday’s Old Firm league game at Celtic Park.
‘I’m gutted to be suspended but the lads will go there full of confidence and hopefully get a result,’ said Garner, who went on to rubbish Imrie’s views of the foul.
‘I wasn’t worried about getting a red card. I went in to tackle him and he’s taken a decent touch around me. I don’t think I got lucky with the challenge in terms of staying on the park. I’ve just watched it back and I didn’t make too much contact.
‘I’ve gone in to see him after the game and he’s fine. If he’s said it’s a UFC challenge, then I’d say watch it back.’
Garner spent 11 minutes in the dressing room receiving treatment following the Adams incident before netting twice late on.
‘I’m a bit dizzy after the knock but I’m sure I’ll be okay,’ he added.
‘I was worried the manager would make a change when I went off. Thankfully, the doctor did a good job.
‘I was telling them to hold on until I got back. I was delighted to go on and score the hat-trick.
‘I feel I’ve had a lot of chances recently but they just haven’t been going in.
‘I hit the post in midweek (against St Johnstone) and should have scored. If I go back through the games, I definitely should have a lot more goals.’
Imrie complained that Accies were on the receiving end of other dodgy calls from referee John Beaton and his officiating team, including the one which saw Jon Toral win Rangers’ spotkick in the 33rd minute.
Earlier, home goalkeeper Wes Foderingham looked guilty of using his hands to claim the ball outside his own 18-yard box.
‘It’s not a penalty,’ said Imrie. ‘Toral went to shoot and kicked the ground. He falls down and the ref gives a penalty. The Wes one as well, he’s outside the box.
‘I can’t believe we lost 6-0, but decisions went against us and we are bitterly disappointed with some of them.
‘I thought we did really well in the first half, passed the ball well from back to middle. If our final ball up the park had been better, we could have got a goal in front but that wasn’t to be. I was disappointed in the second half. That wasn’t like us.
‘Against Aberdeen, we defended with a real resilience.
‘Against Rangers, we lose three goals from set-plays. But we’ve got to pick ourselves up for a massive game against Hearts.
‘We can put our focus on the last 11 games of the league. This club has been renowned for bouncing back from poor performances. We are a strong group here and we will be hurting.’