Hopkin: Ref has Nicked it away with a bad call
Ayr United manager David Hopkin lashed into referee Nick Walsh last night, describing the award of a penalty against his side as “horrific”.
The Honest Men led their Premiership opponents 1-0 at the time of the decision and looked far more likely to add to their lead than to concede.
And having seen it back afterwards, Hopkin wasinnodoubtwalsh had blundered – both in giving the Tangerines a spot kick and in sending off Jack Baird for a second booking.
“It’s tough to take,” he said.
“We went for Dundee United and anyone at the game knows only one team should have won.
“The decision to give a penalty was horrific.
“It wasn’t a soft penalty, it was extra soft. It is never a penalty. The ball is out of the pitch, no one claims for it and the referee decided to get involved in the game.
“To then send Jack off makes it even worse.
“It turned a fantastic cup tie into a training session. My players are well drilled in and I knew we still had a chance because I asked the boys to dig in.
“But it should never have got to that stage. Ben Siegrist pulled off two world-class saves to keep United in the game.
“My keeper didn’t have a save to make but we’re out of the cup.
“Dundee United didn’t look like scoring and only a poor decision was going to change that.
“I stand by it, it was a really poor decision. I asked the referee but no one gives you an answer.
“I didn’t think our missed chances would come back to haunt us because United never looked like scoring.”
Tangerines manager Tam Courts admitted he was a relieved man.
“I knew it was going to be a competitive match. It’s always been a tough venue to visit so I was really pleased the players were able to find the solutions,” he said.
“They started well and there was a real carnival atmosphere. It was always going to be different to last week and thankfully the boys stuck at the task and we are through.
“It’s great for them. I’ve been adamant about the fact we hadn’t progressed out of the groups in the last three years. That was the first target and now we are one game from Hampden.
“Once we got to the shoot-out that’s the most confident I’ve been. Nicky Clark enjoys the centre stage and being the centre of attention and he was our matchwinner in the end.
“I was looking at previous visits and the best result in the Championship was a draw.”