Inverness manager John Robertson lambasted referee Steven Reid, describing his denial of an injury-time penalty to Inverness as ‘one of the worst decisions you’ll ever see’.
With a breathless contest balanced at 3-3 in the last knockings, the Caley Jags were certain Raith Rovers skipper Kyle Benedictus had blocked a shot with his arm.
However, Reid waved play on and blew for full-time moments later, allowing Rovers to go on and claim the bonus point with a 3-2 triumph on spot-kicks.
“It was a fabulous game of football and it’s a shame it was overshadowed by one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Robertson.
“Benedictus has jumped with both hands and the ball hits his hand clear as day and the referee doesn’t see it. It was incredible.
“The referee said it hit him in the face. Well, if that hits him in the face, Benedictus would have been knocked out for a week.
“It’s a pity that such a wonderful football match would be overshadowed by one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.”
In normal time, Shane Sutherland cancelled out Manny Duku’s early opener for Rovers during an entertaining first-half, only for Robertson’s charges to concede after the break courtesy of an unfortunate Daniel Devine own goal.
The gutsy Caley Jags restored parity again through a contentious James Keatings’ penalty, before Roddy MacGregor gave them the lead.
But there was a twist in the tale when Duku notched his second goal in the 90th minutes to ensure the contest went the distance, albeit there was time for more howls for a penalty following Benedictus’ hand-ball.
It was Rovers who prevailed from 12 yards, ironically having missed from the spot during normal time through Dan Armstrong.
Regan Hendry, Ross Matthews and Armstrong all scored from the spot for the hosts, while Caley kid Kai Kennedy fired the decisive kick wide for the post after Keatings and Nikolay Todorov had also failed to ripple the net.
The result sees Inverness exit the Betfred Cup and, in all likelihood, will not be enough for Raith to progress either – but Robertson was still full of praise for his side.
“We’re not worried about (losing) the shootout,” said Robertson.
“Raith were excellent in the first-half and showed a fluidity, tempo and energy that I wanted from my team at the break. That’s why they are top of the league at the moment.
“We flipped that on its head in the second half and did what they had done to us. There was tremendous attacking football from both sides. I’m very proud.”
