Caldwell sees red after ref’s ‘crazy’ sending off
Gary Caldwell fanned the flames of the furore surrounding Scottish referees by branding them as arrogant.
The Partick Thistle boss was furious with whistler Andrew Dallas for sending off recent signing Gary Harkins.
His side conceded a goal just two minutes after the midfielder picked up a second yellow ward.
Caldwell said: “We got a brilliant goal and should have gone on to win the game, but for another crazy decision.
“I think every week there are bad decisions in every game we play in.
“I’m not saying they can be perfect, but the way they go about it after, the arrogance they show, isn’t great.
“It needs to improve. We need to make it better because this is people’s lives at stake in these games.”
Thistle were certainly shaken by the decision to give Harkins an early bath, but their lack of a cutting edge meant they only had a 1-0 lead after dominating possession.
That’s been the story of so many matches for the Jags and why they find themselves bottom.
They have a host of players comfortable on the ball, but they rarely show the bravery to commit opponents and make an opening.
Falkirk were unabashed about setting out to frustrate the home side and then looking to sneak something on the break. Caldwell’s men had the upper hand from the off, but the Bairns were the team that created the best chance of a tousy first half.
Zak Rudden burst through on goal, but
his shot was comfortably saved by Hazard.
Thistle took the lead when Spittal was given time in the box to control a Penrice cross and calmly slide the ball into the net.
That gave the Maryhill faithful something to sing about. Until then, they’d been busy booing former captain Abdul Osman or making supportive chants about Chris Erskine, who’s been told he can leave the club.
Their good cheer didn’t last long. Firstly, they saw Harkins heading for an early bath after being given a harsh second booking for a foul on Maclean.
Their anger was still in full flow when Rudden, who got the winner at Somerset Park last Saturday, bundled home an equaliser.
He was quickest to react after a header had been saved by goalie Conor Hazard.
The 18-year-old reported for training with Rangers yesterday morning before
getting the go-ahead for another loan spell with Falkirk.
He said: “I’m really happy I got the call. I need these games for my development and I’m enjoying every minute.
“I trained all week with Rangers, although I never got a trip to Tenerife out of it!
“It was disappointing not to get the win, but it was good to get back and score a goal.
“I always felt it would come, that there would be a chance and I would take it.”
Falkirk ended the day happier because they remain ahead of Thistle after spending most of the season in bottom spot. Manager Ray Mckinnon said: “We’ve taken four points out of six with a lot of new players, so we’re pretty pleased with that.
“We wanted to keep it tight in the first half, but we had three best chances on the counter. “The plan was always to go to a back four on 60 minutes, but we just lost a goal before that. “We still made the change because we want to get to that formation at some point.
“It’s another great result and we’re still in it.
“Hopefully, we can get another two players in.”