WALTER Smith claimed the dismissal of Kevin Thomson and Danny Wilson helped spur Rangers on to League Cup final victory over St Mirren at Hampden yesterday.
Thomson was deservedly sent off for a lunging tackle on St Mirren’s Steven Thomson eight minutes after the break.
Wilson’s dismissal with 20 minutes remaining for a last man foul on Saints substitute Craig Dargo looked to make it even more challenging for the Light Blues, but Kenny Miller’s dramatic late header took the cup back to Govan.
The Rangers manager was not too critical of referee Craig Thomson, insisting that the official had inadvertently done his side a favour.
“I am delighted,” Smith said.
“At one stage it was unlikely that we would win.
“The first ordering off, in the context of some of the challenges that had gone before, might have been a bit harsh.
“The second one, young Danny misjudged the ball coming down,
“By the laws of the game at the present moment, I don’t think the referee had any options than to do what he did.
“But there was nothing really unjust, it was the referee’s opinion.
“The refereeing decisions really didn’t have that much effect, maybe, if anything it woke us up a little bit because we hadn’t been at our best prior to both of them.
“It was a strange game. St Mirren were the better side up until the time we got Kevin Thomson ordered off.
“Then we proceeded to have our best spell of the game until young Danny got sent off.
“Once we went down to nine, I felt it was a matter of trying to hold on.”