Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara refused to criticise referee Willie Collum for the penalty decision that brought Aberdeen back into the North East New Year derby.
With the Tannadice men 1-0 up thanks to a John Souttar goal, the Dons were handed a lifeline when Collum ruled home defender Andrew Robertson had handled in the box.
The defender was adamant the ball struck his chest, but United’s lack of quality on the day meant they had little cause for complaint overall.
Barry Robson scored from the spot to equalise, before Peter Pawlett grabbed a last-gasp winner for the Dons.
The United boss said: “I spoke to Andrew and he thinks the ball hit him on the chest but the referee made the decision quickly. Sometimes they go for you and other times they don’t.
“We’re disappointed because it was a frustrating way to finish the match. There wasn’t much quality in the game. It was a lot of free-kicks and stop-start all the time.
“I thought it would be someone’s mistake which would decide the game.
“We maybe didn’t deserve to score and go in front when we did but there wasn’t a lot of quality in the game.
“We’ve now lost three in a row but I wouldn’t say it was a concern. The last two games were different altogether because we were down to 10 men against St Mirren and St Johnstone
“I was disappointed with some of our passing today. We handled most of the pressure Aberdeen put on us but it was a poor game.”
For full match coverage from Ian Roache at Tannadice, see Thursday’s Courier or try our digital edition.