Caley Thistle manager John Robertson had no complaints about David Raven’s dismissal which led to Morton’s decisive penalty in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Cappielow – but was left frustrated by the wording of the rules.
Raven tugged Morton striker Robert Thomson to the ground in the 22nd minute, meaning the rule to prevent triple jeopardy in the event of a trip did not apply. Gary Harkins tucked home the resulting spot-kick with what proved to be the winner.
Robertson had no arguments with referee Colin Steven’s decision, and said: “Unfortunately it was. We let the ball bounce which we cannot do in these conditions, and the lad got in behind David and it looked like he tugged him.
“The sad aspect of it now is that if he trips him it’s a yellow card, but if he pulls him it’s a red card. I don’t see the difference.
“It’s a strange one but that’s the new rules. I don’t understand the rules because if he has fouled him, they’re either all yellows or all reds. I thought we were coming away from it being a double whammy.
“I understand why the referee gave the penalty as it was a penalty, and unfortunately I understand why he’s had to give David the red card.”
Robertson was pleased with the response of his side to the early setback, adding: “To be fair I thought Morton were terrific in the first 25 minutes. They could have scored three or four goals were it not for Mark Ridgers who was outstanding.
“We created a couple of half-chances but we said to the players at half-time we had to keep passing the ball. We got through them lots of times but we just didn’t have that wee bit of quality in the last third.”
Morton manager Jim Duffy was pleased with his side’s resolve, adding: “We started terrifically – in the first 40 minutes we were outstanding. When you don’t get that second goal it can get a bit scrappy but I’m delighted with the result. In this league, any three points is welcome.”
