Tony Docherty says his disappointed Dundee side deserved a point from their home clash with Hibs.
After going 2-0 up through goals from Jair Tavares and Lewis Miller, the Edinburgh outfit were reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour.
Miller’s joy turned to despair as he earned a second yellow for a trip on Owen Beck.
Dundee pushed to get back into the game but could only manage one goal back, Beck netting with 85 minutes on the clock.
And Hibs managed to hold out for a 2-1 win.
“The spirit of the players is there for everyone to see. I think the punters are lucky to have a team to watch that will give absolutely everything,” Docherty said.
“I think we just ran out of time.
“We weren’t clinical enough. We had double the shots and double the shots on target than Hibs but you need to convert. David Marshall had a particularly good game.
“We did that in the last game and won 4-0.
“Today we fell short in that area but I can’t criticise those boys, they gave me everything and you saw the impact the subs gave off the bench – that typifies this squad.
“I’m disappointed not to come away with something because I think we should have.
“The two goals are preventable, that’s something we’ll do something about.”
He added: “The second (a Miller header from a corner) wasn’t like us and the lead-up play from the throw-in that led to the corner is not like us. That’s something we’ll need to pick the bones out of.
“Pleased with the spirit and mentality but disappointed not to pick up at least a point.”
Red for Rocky?
Docherty did, though, feel Hibs could have been reduced to 10 men sooner than Miller’s red card.
Beck was impressive once more for the Dee and drove through the middle of the Hibs defence, beating a couple of players.
His run, however, was ended unceremoniously by Rocky Bushiri, earning a yellow card. Docherty thought it should have been more.
“It was reckless, it was high and you see the speed Owen Beck is going at,” the Dundee boss added.
“I was worried for Owen, it could have been a bad injury.
“I suppose VAR looked at it and decided it was fair.
“It’s normally fair with us…”
VAR
That referred to an Independent Review Panel finding Premiership officials to have made three errors with VAR this season.
Two of them affected Dundee with Josh Mulligan’s red card against Kilmarnock and Amadou Bakayoko’s disallowed goal at Livingston cited.
Asked about the panel’s findings, Docherty replied: “I’m disappointed. They got three wrong and two affect us.
“It’s how it impacts your season. In the Kilmarnock game we’re 1-0 up and lose him and then lose him for two games.
“There was also a perfectly good goal chopped off.
“But I believe things level out. I’m disappointed but we move on.”
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