By Graeme Strachan

DUNDEE UNITED chairman Eddie Thompson last night spoke of his heartbreak after the Tangerines lost the CIS Cup final to Rangers in the cruellest way possible.

But he praised the players and supporters and said they had made him extremely proud on a day of high drama at Hampden.

Mr Thompson, who is battling cancer, also spoke of the emotional dressing room scenes that followed yesterday’s spot-kick defeat.

The chairman believes United should have been awarded a penalty when Carlos Cuellar pulled back Christian Kalvenes early in the second half.

He said, “We feel a bit hard done by but it is not the first time it has happened to us. We are obviously very disappointed but we gave everything and I can’t praise the players highly enough.

“We are all heartbroken at losing a cup final in such a cruel way and I went into the dressing room afterwards to console the players. We all hugged and there were a few tears. Everyone was very emotional.”

United appeared to have one hand on the trophy when Mark Kerr’s passback was intercepted by Rangers striker Kris Boyd, who equalised with five minutes to go.

Mr Thompson was refusing to make anyone a scapegoat.

“I can’t blame anyone for making individual mistakes,” he said.

“We play as a team and we lose as a team. We are disappointed to have lost today, yes, but you have to remember it was only 15 months ago that Craig Levein came in when we were fighting relegation.

“He kept us up and now we have got to a cup final and are also challenging for a European place, so look how far we have come in such a short space of time.”

Mr Thompson roared the team on from the stand alongside manager Craig Levein.

He praised the 17,000 United supporters who joined him on a rollercoaster ride of emotions during the 120 minutes of play and the penalty kicks that followed.

“They were magnificent and made me very proud to be a United supporter,” said Mr Thompson.

“They couldn’t have given us any more backing and it is just a shame they have gone home disappointed.

“Despite being outnumbered, they more than made up for that in voice.”