Even Michael Nelson admitted it was a spot kick, claims foiled Anthony Stokes

CELTIC striker Anthony Stokes could cite the ultimate star witness in his case for being wrongly denied a penalty in added time of yesterday’s Scottish Communities League Cup final.

Stokes said that Kilmarnock defender Michael Nelson, whose challenge resulted in him going to ground only to be booked for simulation by referee Willie Collum, admitted the incident ought to have brought a spot-kick.

“It was a stonewall penalty,” said the 23-year-old. “You never do get anything off referees up here, but I don’t know how I’ve got a yellow card for diving. He caught me. The boy himself said afterwards he couldn’t understand how it wasn’t a penalty but obviously the referee has seen something different. I lost the head a little bit, but as far as I was concerned it was a definite penalty. I knew I had been caught.”

Kilmarnock’s victory will be placed second only to that by Raith Rovers in Celtic’s final flops in cup finals in the past 40 years. They have almost made it a club tradition to lose against unfancied opponents in the League Cup in that time, having also lost to Dundee and Partick Thistle. Yesterday was Celtic’s 14th defeat across their past 21 League Cup final appearances. Stokes didn’t put the reverse down solely to Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell proving an impregnable barrier. “Their ’keeper made some great saves, but we dominated, played very well but just couldn’t put the ball in the net,” he said.

And Stokes didn’t pretend other than his strike partner Gary Hooper squandered a glorious opportunity to put Celtic one up inside five minutes when Mohamadou Sissoko passed straight to him in front of goal, only to find Bell with a weak shot. “Nine times out of ten, Hoops would put that away, but we still created a lot of chances and I thought we dominated the game. In the second-half we had a period of sustained pressure but we have to congratulate Kilmarnock because they are the winners, so well done to them.”

Stokes extended his sympathy to Liam Kelly on the death of his father Jack after he suffered a heart attack at Hampden and later died in hospital. “We heard about it after the game and it is terrible,” he said.