Dundee United - After Match Reaction
Saturday 9th January 2010
Given the nature of Dundee United's first goal this afternoon emotions, as you can imagine, are running high at Firhill at the moment. In a tight, entertaining cup tie with little between the two teams there is little doubt that the decision to allow Damian Casalinuovo's 26th minute but despite an all too clear handball proved to be pivotal.
As always www.ptfc.co.uk caught up with the Thistle manager Ian McCall in the immediate aftermath of the game. The manager was considered and calm with his thoughts but it was obvious that his outward calm demeanour though was hiding a burning sense of injustice.
"I've just phoned the BBC Head of Sport to tell him that I can't appear on their highlights programme tonight because I am simply too angry."
"To be perfectly honest with you I don't blame the referee for not spotting the handball. He didn't have a good view of the incident and if I'm being truthful neither did I. I knew as soon as I saw the reaction of Alan Archibald though that something simply wasn't right about the goal. The players were sitting in the dressing room after the game and they are absolutely gutted at the fashion in which the first goal was scored."
"I don't like using terms like ‘cheating' or taking the moral high ground. These things happen in football. In what was a very good game of football though it was without question a turning point in the match. I think that just about everyone at the game would agree that we more than matched Dundee United over the course of the 90 minutes."
"I'm not going to go as far as saying that we deserved to win the match but I certainly don't think that we deserved to lose it. Both teams have had chances and some of the chances that we had were very good ones. For all the talk about Dundee United's first thing the galling thing from my point of view is our failure to take any of those chances. I am, however, proud of the way that my players went about their business this afternoon. We deserved better than to lose in the fashion that we did."
"The second goal that they scored at the end didn't really matter. I've told Jamie Adams to stay as far up field as possible as we tried to score an equaliser in a cup tie and we've simply been caught trying to chase the game."
Jamie Adams inclusion in the game was a bit of a surprise after it had looked as if he wouldn't be able to play in case he was cup-tied.
"Kilmarnock changed their mind about that and the circumstances surrounding that should become clear in a week or so."
