John Hughes leapt to the defence of Dunfermline captain Graham Dorrans following a costly error against Partick Thistle.
Jags skipper Ross Docherty robbed the experienced midfielder in the dying embers of Friday night’s Scottish Cup tie, before proceeding to curl a sumptuous winner beyond Owain fon Williams.
It was a lax moment from Dorrans, who had been otherwise excellent in a deep-lying playmaker role for the Pars at Firhill.
Perhaps rattled by that mistake, the former Scotland international then became embroiled in a fiery clash with Shea Gordon as Dunfermline sought parity with the clock running down.
But Hughes was swift to absolve Dorrans of the responsibility.
We're off to enjoy the rest of our weekend – we hope you do too.
Enjoy! 👇
From:
The Twitter Admins x pic.twitter.com/uA8dVnn2n1— Partick Thistle FC (@PartickThistle) November 27, 2021
“Graham Dorrans is everything you want at your football club,” lauded Hughes. “He is as brave as a lion and I’ve got no problem.
“These things happen.
“If anyone saw him against Ayr last weekend [3-0 win], it was a masterclass.
“And it was another masterclass on Friday up until that moment — with the way he looks after the ball.
“But to put so much into the game and lose a goal like that; it’s very disappointing. There wasn’t a lot between the teams but we were maybe a bit hemmed in during the second half.”
A blip
The reverse in Glasgow, playing amid the gusting gale of Storm Arwen, follows two successive victories for Dunfermline and represents Hughes’ first defeat as Pars boss.
And ‘Yogi’ is determined to ensure they grow from the maiden set-back under his watch.
“We have been in two weeks and everything has been rosy in the garden,” added Hughes. “I’m even talking about even the weather that we have had for training! It has all been fantastic.
“This is the first blip that we have had and it’s part of the process as well.
“The players know that is not acceptable in terms of defeat, but when they give it everything that they have got, you can’t say too much to them.”
