“Resilience in absolute spades” saw Dundee battle back to a last-gasp leveller against Kilmarnock says manager Tony Docherty.
Despite taking the lead through Amadou Bakayoko early on, two first-half VAR calls went against the Dark Blues.
First a penalty for handball against Bakayoko gave Dan Armstrong the chance to make it 1-1.
Then less than five minutes later Josh Mulligan was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Armstrong.
A decision Docherty disagreed with – and it seems VAR official Euan Anderson also disagreed after sending referee David Munro to the monitor.
However, Munro stuck to his decision to the fury of the home dugout and support to see Dundee play out the final hour with 10 men.
“It was never a red card and I said to the referee,” Docherty said.
“There were worse challenges in the game and I was really disappointed when he went across to the monitor, usually they reverse their decision. Derek (McInnes) told me it was a yellow card.
“I thought he would reverse it but I spoke to him at half-time and he deemed it to be reckless.
“There was nobody more shocked than Josh Mulligan.
“Yes, it was a foul and a booking. It’s about consistency – if that’s the decision for that tackle then there should have been seven or eight red cards today.”
Penalty
The penalty was also controversial with the ball striking Bakayoko on the arm from close range.
Docherty said: “What is the handball rule? I’m not sure.
“I thought we were harshly treated today but I don’t want to be talking about officials – I want to talk about my team and they showed resilience in absolute spades.”
‘Reacted magnificently’
That was clear with the stoppage-time equaliser from substitute Zak Rudden no less than the Dark Blues deserved after standing up to their opponents throughout the second period despite being a man down.
Armstrong had struck with nine minutes to go to make it 2-1. And it looked like that would be enough to earn Killie all three points.
But a late corner saw the ball fall to Rudden in the six-yard box and he made no mistake.
“We had so many positives today,” Docherty added.
“No game goes the way you want but it’s how you react and my players reacted magnificently today.
“I’m delighted with my team to come back from a game where you are 2-1 down, down to 10 men and nine minutes to go.
“They showed real resilience and I’m not surprised. It’s a fantastic group, I say it all the time, they work hard every day and I say to them they will get their rewards for doing that – today they got their rewards.
“A couple of weeks ago at McDiarmid Park we showed have taken all three points but only got a point – today we gained a point.
“There is a real mentality about my team and that’s what I was pleased about today.”
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