ST JOHNSTONE manager Steve Lomas felt his team should have had a late penalty at Motherwell, which could have completed a remarkable Fir Park comeback.
After falling behind to a Michael Higdon hat-trick two in the first half and one midway through the second the Perth side dragged themselves back into the game with goals from Nigel Hasselbaink and Liam Craig.
Lomas believed his Dutch substitute should have been awarded a spot-kick when he was trying to get a shot away in the second last minute of the match but he wasn’t, his effort was saved, and the match ended 3-2 to the home team.
Lomas said: “The boys are feeling frustrated because they thought it was a penalty.
“I don’t know who the Motherwell boy was, but he’s got his arms round Nigel’s waist and hampered his shot.
“He still got a shot, but he was trying to break free when he hit it.”
It was a day of mixed emotions for Lomas, who watched his team defend poorly for Higdon’s first-half double but then launch a spirited fightback.
He admitted: “Some of the defending wasn’t great. I felt we were the team who got into the final third more and were creating more chances, but the difference was Michael Higdon. Their conversion rate was higher than ours.
“But I have to say I’m proud of my boys for keeping going and when we got two goals quickly I was thinking ‘here we go’, but we couldn’t quite get the equaliser.”
Saints were dealt another blow with the news that a late injury to substitute Gary Miller is thought to be an ankle break.
Lomas said: “It was an honest challenge but unfortunately it looks like it might be a broken ankle, which is desperately disappointing for the boy.”
Motherwell boss Stuart McCall acknowledged that he could see the three points slipping away from his team.
“I’m definitely relieved,” he said. “Credit to St Johnstone for having a right go, and if it wasn’t for our keeper saving from Nigel Hasselbaink late on it would have been a draw.
“Both teams had a lot of strikers on the pitch so it was always likely there would be goals. We didn’t play to our best but you’ve got to be happy with three goals and three points.”