Dundee United boss Tam Courts insists his side’s Premier Sports Cup dream was wrecked by two dodgy referee calls against Hibernian.
Courts was gutted as United went 3-0 down at half-time thanks to strikes from Joe Newell, Scott Allan and a hotly-disputed Martin Boyle penalty.
Peter Pawlett pulled a goal back for the hosts.
He then had a second effort controversially ruled out for offside as United crashed out at the quarter-final stage.
“I’m really disappointed by that,” said Courts. “Mark Reynolds has had to spend some time on the bench.
“He then performs so admirably well and has to deal with an unjust penalty decision. I’m really disappointed for him.
“Then we have Peter Pawlett, who is in the form of his life and is a real joy to watch denied a goal.
“It would have been a cracking finale if we had been awarded that legitimate goal and took it down the home stretch. Unfortunately we never got that opportunity.”
🟠 @dundeeunitedfc are still fighting!
Fantastic flick and finish from Peter Pawlett after a great team move 👏 pic.twitter.com/m9Q1mYVRsP
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) September 23, 2021
Tam Courts praises Dundee United for second-half fightback
Meanwhile, Courts praised his side for the character they showed in their second half showing.
“One thing I know about these players is they’ve got character, togetherness and a bit of grit and determination.
“The target at half-time was to acknowledge the first half was a bit of an anomaly.
“We wanted to win the second half and see if we could make it uncomfortable for Hibs and I think we did that.”
🟠 @dundeeunitedfc's Thomas Courts on his side's quarter-final loss to Hibernian
🗣️ "I think we controlled large parts of the game and there's a couple of key decisions that have went against us tonight." pic.twitter.com/RhZuweEl6q
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) September 23, 2021
United will travel to Celtic Park on Sunday without Marc McNulty after he pulled up with a hamstring injury midway through the second period.
They could also be without Charlie Mulgrew – who came off injured after 17 minutes.
But Courts is confident the ex-Celtic and Scotland star may not be sidelined for a lengthy period.
He added: “With Charlie’s one, we’ve probably caught that early.
“With Marc, there definitely is a bit more fatigue on the hamstring so we need to review that.”
