Dalbeattie Star boss slams 'blatant mistake' he feels turned South of Scotland League Cup final
Dalbeattie Star boss Eddie Warwick has slammed the “blatant mistake” that he believes turned Friday’s cup final against his side.
Star were 1-0 up on Lochar Thistle thanks to Ross Hunter’s goal when the goalscorer was taken out by Lochar keeper Konar Pietsch early in the second half.
Referee Andy Halliday only issued the goalie a yellow card and Lochar went on to win 2-1 as they retained the South of Scotland League Cup.
Warwick accepted the second half was probably the worst his side had played all season – but thinks the lack of a red card played a part.
He explained: “It’s a massive decision, he’s the only man in Palmerston who saw it that way. I’ve spoken to people who were at the game, it was a huge turning point.
“I’m not one for criticising referees but it’s a massive decision and unfortunately it’s probably ended up deciding the outcome of the game.
“I don’t want anybody sent off, he played with us last season and he’s a great guy, but he knows himself it was a straight red. He had two reds against us last year for the same thing and has had one this season.
“I’m OK with referees who make mistakes but it was a blatant mistake on a big occasion.
“It’s given them a lift, they score two minutes later for 1-1 and then they score 10 minutes later. The whole thing is derailed.
“We’ve had to take Ross [Hunter] off as his leg has been mangled.”
Hunter had given Star the lead after just a couple of minutes.
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However, they failed to build on their advantage and Lochar hit back in the second half when former Star striker Scott Milligan scored just after the hour mark.
And the winner arrived a quarter of an hour from time when Finlay Kennedy fired home to ensure Lochar retained the cup.
Warwick said: “We felt as though we started the game very well, we were right on the front foot and scored a very good goal. We had another couple of chances we could have converted.
“Lochar had a spell before half-time but apart from that I felt we were comfortable.
“We still can’t put our finger on what happened, we didn’t show up in the second half. The players are angry and frustrated and rightly so. It’s probably the worst 45 minutes we’ve had all season.
“Lochar were the better team in the second half, fair play to them. From being on the ascendancy for the first 30 minutes, we should have put the game to bed. We haven’t.
“We were making a change but had four or five still on who were struggling so the ones coming on weren’t able to make an impact.
“I don’t expect to see that level of performance from that group of players, it was night and day from the first half which is very disappointing.
“There were a couple of massive decisions that went against us which is upsetting. It could have swung it in our favour but didn’t.
“I don’t think Lochar did anything special, they maybe wanted to play a bit better in the first half when we’d put them under a lot of pressure in the first 20 minutes.
“They know how to win and get over the line in cup finals. It’s not that we don’t, we’ve won a cup, but in the first half there’s been a lack of decision making and we’ve not been clinical in front of goal.
“The whole thing probably gets into the head and the performance level is miles away from where it should be.
“They’ve won the cup and I wish them all the best, they were better than us in the second half.”
Star need to put Friday’s disappointment behind them on Saturday when they go to Abbey Vale in the quarter-finals of the Tweedie Cup.
Warwick added: “There’ll be changes, we’ve a couple of injuries off the back of Friday.
“We’re not taking Abbey Vale lightly, they’re a good team, especially at New Abbey, but we can’t keep burning at both hands.
“We need to make sure players are fit and ready to go and choose wisely.”
