Scottish Cup final: Mark Brown refuses to point the finger of blame at referee

In the first all-Edinburgh final since 1896, Hibs thought they were back in the contest at 2-1 at half-time following captain James McPake’s goal, but conceded a penalty in the opening attack of the second half.

Pa Kujabi was adjudged to have pulled back Suso Santana, with Thomson pointing to the spot and the Gambian left-back sent off for a second bookable offence. It was one of a number of decisions which frustrated Hibs.

Danny Grainger converted the penalty and it was game over for 10-man Hibs, who suffered further indignity when manager Pat Fenlon was sent to the stand for an offensive gesture and McPake led the protests to referee Thomson at the final whistle. Both could face disciplinary action.

Brown said: “People had problems with the penalty decision. But I don’t think we can blame the referee for our performance from the start. Hearts started well and at times passed us off the park. You could say the penalty was a big decision that changed the game, but, overall through the 90 minutes, I don’t think we were good enough as a team.

“It was difficult to see whether it was in or out of the box. It was a foul, but it’s hard for the referee or linesman to see if it was inside the box. It was a hard call for them. The referee was confident enough that it was [inside], we were then down to 10 men. From 2-1 down at the start of the second half we were then 3-1 down. Within another couple of minutes we were 4-1 down and the game was virtually finished.”

Hibs were seeking to win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 110 years and the wait – and the taunting from across the city – goes on.

Brown insisted the history did not weigh on the players’ minds and admitted few experiences rivalled the loss for the feeling of despair.

“We knew the history but it was a great chance to try to rewrite history, but sometimes it isn’t your day,” he said. “This is probably the lowest. Cup finals don’t come around too often. We trained well, we prepared properly for this game, we thought we had an opportunity. But on the day it wasn’t to be. I feel most sorry for the Hibs fans.

“They travelled through in great numbers and gave great support and unfortunately the team hasn’t performed for them. It’s disappointing. We went into the game thinking we might have a chance of winning the cup, but unfortunately Hearts proved to be the better team and were deserved winners.”

Since succeeding Colin Calderwood as boss in November, Fenlon has attempted a swift overhaul at Easter Road with eight members of the current squad on loan deals.

The Irishman has promised further changes after Hibs narrowly escaped relegation from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and a busy summer is anticipated.

Brown is one of a number of players out of contract and he will seek discussions over his future. “I’ll need to speak to the club in the next few days to see what’s happening,” the former Rangers and Celtic goalkeeper added.