McInnes adamant Easter Road talisman cheated to win penalty

ST JOHNSTONE manager Derek McInnes accused Garry O’Connor of cheating his team out of a point last night after the Hibernian striker won the penalty which gave his side a third goal in their 3-2 win.

McInnes said the referee had made the wrong decision but added that he blamed O’Connor, not the official.

“I’m disappointed in the two goals that we lost in the first half,” McInnes said. “We’ve got to defend better. The game was too open in the first half, and I was disappointed to go in a goal down, but I was confident we had another goal in us.

“The third goal proved pivotal. For me, O’Connor has dived and made the referee make a decision – and he’s made the wrong decision. The biggest culprit was O’Connor. I think the pictures show clearly it was the wrong decision.

“I spoke to the referee after the game and told him I thought it was the wrong decision, but the damage was done. The second goal probably came too late, but it should have been enough to get us a point.” That late goal from Cillian Sheridan produced a few anxious moments on the Hibs bench, but minutes later manager Colin Calderwood was able to celebrate a home win in the league for the first time since February. O’Connor’s two goals added to the opening strike from Ivan Sproule was enough to get the better of Liam Craig’s and Sheridan’s goals for the Perth side, but Calderwood also had praise for his defenders.

“It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of luck on occasion to win a game, and I thought we had both,” Calderwood said. “I’m pleased with our centre-halves [Sean O’Hanlon and Ian Murray]. They had a royal battle with Francisco Sandaza and Cillian Sheridan, and came out on top.”