Derek McInnes accuses Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones of diving

Kilmarnock's Jordan Jones (left) celebrates the award of a penalty. Picture: SNS

Dons defenders Shay Logan and Kari Arnason allowed Jones to nip in between them, with the former appearing to trip the winger inside the box to concede the spot kick.

Kris Boyd did the rest, scoring his 17th goal of the season to wipe out Graeme Shinnie’s early opener, but Logan escaped a second booking in the incident.

McInnes wasn’t pleased at his players’ defending but was even less happy with the role of referee Steven McLean and especially Jones’ contribution.

He said: “In the build-up to the penalty kick, I think we’re in the strongest position to deal with it between Shay and Arni, and we’ve allowed Jones to get in. That said, I still don’t think it’s a penalty – I think he goes down without any contact.

“I understand why he’s gone down, I think he’s maybe anticipated but actually looking it again, I don’t see how anybody has made a foul.

“At the time I thought it was a penalty, so there’s no real criticism of the referee to be honest.

“For all of that, I think we’ve got to be thankful we’re still in the cup.

“Ultimately, if you want to get through tough games and win against good teams, as Kilmarnock are, you need a more complete 90- minute performance.”

The Kilmarnock manager reckoned that both McLean and McInnes got it half right. Clarke said:“The referee is much closer than us and must have seen contact. I agree with Derek about the second point, that if it is a foul by Logan then it’s a second yellow and he should be sent off.”