ROSS County midfielder Jackson Irvine last night suggested the Parkhead crowd had influenced the referee’s decision not to send off Celtic keeper Craig Gordon on Saturday.
The Australian was brought down by Gordon in the first half of the Ladbrokes Premiership match with Ronny Deila’s side at the weekend as he attempted to net an equaliser with the scoreline at 1-0.
Match official Willie Collum only cautioned the Scotland internationalist for the foul on the edge of his penalty area and the home team ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at the end of the 90 minutes to pick up all three points.
However, Irvine and his manager Jim McIntrye were both adamant that Gordon had denied him an obvious goalscoring opportunity and should have been red carded.
The former Celtic player implied the home support had played a part in the controversial ruling in the 20th minute on a day when the league flag was unfurled.
“I still think Craig should have had the red card,” said Irvine. “I spoke to Craig after the game and he seemed relieved. It’s a game-changing incident. It was so early in the game and would have changed things had they lost a man at that point.
“The thing for me is that I see him coming and he is always going to bring me down when I knock the ball past him. You can look at it in different ways, but for me if he doesn’t come off his line I am one on one.
“The fact he came out and halted me was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and a red card. That’s my view but not everyone agrees. For the referee, it’s flag day at Celtic Park and it’s a big decision to make in front of the home crowd.”
Meanwhile, Irvine, who clinched a transfer to Ross County from Celtic in the summer after spending last season on loan in Dingwall, has predicted the Global Energy Stadium club can emulate the achievements of their Highland rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the 2015/16 campaign.
John Hughes’s side finished third in the Premiership last term to qualify for Europe for the first time in their 21 year existence and then landed the first major trophy in their short history when they won the Scottish Cup.
McIntyre has strengthened his squad considerably during the close season and Irvine, who signed a two year contract after County agreed to pay a nominal development fee to Celtic, is confident they are capable of similar feats in the coming months.
“In the second half of last season when we went on that glorious run, we used the same 12 or 13 players,” he said. “This year, we have 20 players and we didn’t even know who was going to play against Celtic, which shows the strength in depth we have now.
“Competition for places is going to be a lot higher and we have goals all over the team. Brian Graham has been a great addition, Liam Boyce has genuine quality and Craig Curran has been excellent.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t emulate Inverness this season. Performances like the Celtic one can only help confidence.
“It’s hard for some of the boys who had never played in Scotland before. They didn’t know what to expect and the game on Saturday was the hardest start they could have had. But I think we have put down a marker for the rest of the season.”
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