Aberdeen's Lewis Ferguson's bemoans refereeing decisions in Celtic game

Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson is adamant that it was officialdom rather than the endeavours of opponents Celtic that proved instrumental in Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat.

berdeen's Lewis Ferguson battles with Celtic's Cameron Carter Vickers in the Pittdorie side's 3-2 defeat he believes came with a third visitors's goal that should not have stood and the failure of referee Willie Collum to award him a penalty late on. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The result leaves Stephen Glass’s men without a victory in five league games going into their dare-not-lose Scottish Cup fifth round tie at Motherwell on Saturday. The Pittodrie side have picked up only two points since the winter shutdown but the 22-year-old believes but for poor calls from referee Willie Collum and his team, that total would have risen to at least three in midweek.

Ferguson’s third goal against Celtic this season, a header just after the hour that made it 2-2 as the home team produced a stirring second half fightback after going into the interval two down, counted for nothing with Jota making it 3-2 a minute later. The goal was given despite Liel Abada blocking off David Bates in the lead-up to the Postruguese winger powering through to batter a bouncing drive past Gary Woods. And to compound the sense of injustice for Ferguson, he is in no doubt his coming together with Matt O’Riley in the Celtic box later on should have resulted in Collum pointing to the spot.

“We were excellent in the second half and deserved a point,” the Scotland international said. “To get done by a goal like that, where it looks as if he is offside and there is a foul on Bates, it’s harsh on the boys. It was the same at the weekend [in the 2-1 defeat by Livingston when a pull on him in the box was missed]. We’re [being] done by refereeing decisions. It is killing us at the minute. When you are not on a good run, these sort of things don’t go your way. Celtic are on a good run and it goes their way. That’s just the way it works. It’s disappointing to get done by a decision that is out of our control.

“[And with the penalty claim later] I felt as if the boy wasn’t really looking at the ball or making an attempt to play the ball. I think he was just trying to put his body into me. I think if it’s anywhere else on the park it is probably a foul. In the penalty area it’s not a foul – it’s one of those ones. I thought at the time he wasn’t making an attempt to play the ball and was purely focusing on me. That’s why I asked the question to Willie. I think it’s a foul anywhere else on the park – it was too soft for the referee to give but in my eyes I thought it was a penalty.”

Any recent disappointments must be set aside at Fir Park this weekend to ensure one key objective from the campaign doesn’t come to a premature halt. “The Scottish Cup is massive,” Ferguson said. “We want to do well in the cup. We set our aims at the start of the season and cup runs are big for this club. Hopefully, we can put on a wining performance to get into the next round.”

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