Stephen Robinson last night branded VAR soul destroying after another video ref flashpoint at Tynecastle.
The St Mirren boss was fuming at the decision not to ask ref David Munro to take another look at a late handball claim against Hearts defender Kye Rowles. The Jambos survived and hung on to claim a 1-0 win and move six points clear of Aberdeen in the race for third in a bad tempered clash where Robbie Neilson was sent to the stands.
But Robinson was left raging at another controversial handball call. He said: “I’ve been told it was a penalty and it was similar to other penalties that have been given recently. All we want is a bit of clarity. It’s not the referees’ fault. There are all these people sitting watching, but they are not calling the referee over. When you look at some of the penalties given, it’s incredible. I think the ruling is wrong, so it’s not just about my team.
“I have no idea what’s going on. It’s soul destroying at times because you don’t know what they will and won’t look at. All the managers feel the same.
“Keanu Baccus yellow card was also incredible and it left him walking a tightrope. We deserved the minimum of a point. It was the best 90 minutes of the season.
“To play two games against a team of that calibre and only take one point is devastating for me, because the boys deserved more. We’re down to the bare bones and bringing on 17 year-olds, yet we are matching if not bettering them. It’s hard to take.”
Hearts boss Neilson admitted he may need to START games in the stand after being sent packing on a tense night in Gorgie. Barrie McKay’s first half stunner was enough to bag three points but the hosts were forced to hang on in the end with their gaffer out of the dugout.
Neilson said: “There’s nothing you can do about it. You’re dealing with referees and some are good and some are bad.
“I have just spoken to him in there and I still don’t know the reason for it, to be honest with you. Some referees you can talk to, some you can have a bit of rapport with.
“Some have got personality and can talk and understand it. And then there’s others who don’t have any of that. Unfortunately for me I think it was the latter this evening.
“I’ll take it on the chin. I’ll know the next time we have him I’ll need to start in the stand!”
Neilson was thrilled to hang tough and claim the points. He said: “I’m delighted to get the three points.
“When you play teams back to back it is always difficult because you kind of negate each other. But I thought we played well in the first half, we passed the ball really well.
“In the second half we were flat, you hope when you score the first goal they open up but St Mirren remained compact, they were hard to break down and were always a danger at set plays.
“So to see out the game with a clean sheet and to get the three points was great.
Neilson handed new defender James Hill a debut and striker Garang Kuol came on late. The boss said: "I was delighted with James, I thought he was outstanding. For a kid who has not played for a while, to come up here and play in front of 20,000 people, in possession he was outstanding with some of the switches of play and out of possession he was top, winning headers and being aggressive."
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