Jim Goodwin blasted referee Matthew MacDermid after Dundee ended Dundee United’s Scottish Cup hopes.
United fell behind just a minute into the contest after a flying start by their city rivals.
They thought they had equalised before the break through Vicko Sevelj, only for the whistler to blow his whistle and award Dundee a foul, just before the ball hit the net.
The Tangerines kicked on even further after the break and ended up peppering the Dundee goal.
A combination of slack finishing, bad luck and a superb showing by Carson kept them out.
But United’s boss was left furious with MacDermid’s decision to halt play, rather than allowing it to run on, with VAR operational to pick up clear and obvious errors.
He said: “Why does he blow the whistle? What’s VAR for?
“He should have let the attack play then bring it back. If he thinks it’s a foul he can check the monitor.
“But there’s no way there’s a foul.
“I got a brief chat with the referee at half-time, but we’re limited in what we can get from him, then, at the end of the game what’s the point? The damage is done.
“I just don’t understand why he blows the whistle. We understood that they’ll let the play continue then, if it is a foul, clear and obvious, then they’ll give it.
“Watching that back, there’s absolutely no way in the world that’s a foul.”
He added: “We’re all gutted, as you would imagine, but we won’t allow this result to derail what’s been a very good season up to now.
“We’re in a great position in the league. The league is always the priority at the start of the season.
“Of course we want to go far in the cup competitions. But it wasn’t to be.
“We get back to league business now at the weekend. It’s a really tough game against tough opposition and we’ll need to make sure we’re at it.”
United’s attacking options were boosted at Dens by the presence on the bench of new signings Lewis Fiorini and Ruari Paton.
After summer moves to Stockport County and Port Vale respectively, the pair have found themselves collecting substitute appearances, rather than starts.
Match sharpness will take time to achieve – but the second half minutes afforded to Paton is a solid first step.
Long before the ex-Manchester City kid arrived on the scene, however, and in fact before United had even enjoyed any possession, the Tangerines were contending with an uphill struggle.
Dundee came flying out of the traps and, within a minute, won themselves a corner kick.
Finn Robertson’s cross was a good one and, after Dee striker Simon Murray leapt highest to meet it, the ball nestled in United’s net.
The breakneck pace of the game’s opening spell was impossible to maintain but, as the first half settled into more controlled patterns, the home side continued to impose themselves.
It wasn’t one-way traffic though, and United had the ball in the net through Sam Dalby.
However, Will Ferry’s cross was adjudged to have gone behind the goal line before curling back into play.
Ross Graham saw a header fly just over the bar after a neat passage of United play.
Goodwin’s men then had the ball in the net for a second time when Vicko Sevelj fired into the bottom left corner, but referee Matthew MacDermid had already – and controversially – blown for a foul in Dundee’s favour.
After feeling aggrieved by MacDermid’s decisions, United emerged for the second half freshly motivated.
With only a one-goal lead to show for their sharp play, Dundee were vulnerable.
And as the referee continued to confound both sides with his decision-making, Louis Moult headed Will Ferry’s cross just wide of the post before the hour mark.
Kevin Holt, deployed in midfield, then saw an effort blocked by a resolute Dundee defence, then another saved by Carson.
United found another gear with around 15 minutes to go.
First, Paton saw an effort that looked destined to nestle deflected to safety by Ethan Ingram, then, from the resulting corner, Carson tipped Declan Gallagher’s header over the bar at full stretch.
Carson was Dundee’s saviour again when he parried Ferry’s dipping 25-yard volley wide of the post with eight minutes left.
Kristijan Trapanovski came within a whisker of scoring a stunning equaliser in time added on after cutting inside from the left and curling an almost-perfectly placed effort onto the far post.
Incredibly, from the rebound, Carson had re-set himself in time to tip Sevelj’s header over the bar – and send the United fans home cursing him for his man of the match performance.
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