St Johnstone midfielder Matt Smith is singing from the same hymn sheet as his manager on two fronts.
As with Craig Levein, the Welsh international was exasperated yet again by a game-altering VAR intervention that has gone against them.
But he also shared in the Dens Park disappointment at Saints’ response to the latest officiating body blow.
Smith had put Saints in front against Dundee.
That lead was wiped out after VAR official Don Robertson saw an offence not spotted by referee David Munro in Liam Gordon’s attempt to beat Amadou Bakayoko to a ball into the box.
Having been the victim of two equally controversial decisions when they faced Aberdeen recently, Levein’s side are getting used to being on the wrong end of ‘offences’ that nobody in the ground has seen.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
“It kills the experience for players and it kills the experience for fans,” said Smith.
“It should be a good thing but for whatever reason it’s not being used correctly.
“We’ve watched it back and I don’t think it’s a penalty.
“You could give 10 of those every single game and I think if it’s not given, nobody says a thing because there’s so little in it.
“That’s what frustrates you.
“I know refs get a lot of stick but sometimes you just have to let things go because it’s not clear and obvious.
“I don’t know why it’s gone to VAR because nobody appealed so it wasn’t something obvious that the ref had missed.
“Nobody claimed and when it was flagged up there would be a VAR check, we thought it was for handball.
“I don’t think the ref knew what it was for either – then he told us it was for a hand in the face.
“We stood there for ages then when you watch it back it wasn’t the right decision.
“We have had a few now and you don’t want to say too much because it gets repetitive, to be honest.
“We are playing for three points, we want to stay in the league so it’s frustrating because I think everyone watching it back will say it was never a penalty.”
Game management needs to be better
Levein described his team’s response to the Luke McCowan equaliser as “abysmal”.
And Smith didn’t try to offer up a defence for the last 20 minutes of football Saints produced.
“We have to be better after the setback,” said the former MK Dons man. “The way we reacted wasn’t good enough and we know that.
“We can’t blame losing the game on VAR because I don’t think we handled it well enough.
“But goals change games and that was a big turning point of the game.
“We have to react better and stick together.
“We should have come away with a point and been thinking that we will take that on the back of a bad VAR decision.
“But we didn’t see it out well enough.
“I think we are making progress but it’s frustrating because we were good enough to win the game on Sunday.
“When we’re in charge of games we have to be better at managing them.”
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