JOHN BEATON managed to go from the scorching sunshine of Spain to scalding criticism within a matter of days as the finger of blame was pointed at the referee yesterday afternoon.

Fresh from the SFA officials’ training camp in La Manga last week, Beaton would have been hoping for a chance to break himself gently back into the swing of things. As it transpired the heat he received at full-time would have melted all the snow that fell during a torrid afternoon in Dundee as his 88th-minute decision turned this Ladbrokes Premiership tie on its head.

With Motherwell 2-1 up and coping well with all Dundee’s pressure, a loose ball into the visiting box was contested by Fir Park youngster Chris Cadden and Dens left-back Kevin Holt. The pair swung a boot at the ball with the Motherwell man appearing to get there first, only for his opponent to go down and referee Beaton pointed to the spot.

It sparked fury in the stands, on the touchline and on the park as Motherwell protested the call, with Kane Hemmings calmly slotting the ball away once some sort of order had been regained as Dundee grabbed a point that was beginning to look beyond them.

“At the time I never thought it was a penalty and I’ve just watched it on the replay, on slow motion and with five different angles, and not in a million years is it a penalty,” said an irate Mark McGhee. “The referee is telling us at the end there it is a stonewaller, you just feel cheated.

“I’m not saying the referee has done it deliberately, of course he’s not, but it’s a bad judgement and a bad call.”

It was a harrowing end to the afternoon for all in the Motherwell manager’s line-up, none more so than youngster Cadden. The midfielder made his first start for the club last week against Ross County, and after his manager stuck by him again yesterday, showed wonderful skill to blast his team into an early lead on four minutes. Marvin Johnson did well to burst to the byeline on the overlap and even better to pick out the 19-year-old unmarked just inside the box. Cadden showed great composure to chest the ball down and the smash a half-volley with his left foot into the top corner.

Given the agricultural nature of the Dens Park pitch and the blustery conditions above it, there was also going to be opportunities for striker to cause havoc. Dundee’s first came just two minutes after going behind and they grabbed it, Paul McGowan wriggled free of his man inside a bobbly box and expertly hooked the ball high beyond Connor Ripley in the Motherwell goal.

The visitors’ lead was restored before the break in a half where both teams’ sporadic flashes of attacking intent almost result in a goal. While Rory Loy had an effort from close in crash off the bar and Keith Lasley forced Scott Bain into a scrambling save at the other end, it was a marauding run from Motherwell midfielder Stephen Pearson that would bring another goal. The former Celtic man received a lay off from Louis Moult and jinked through the heart of Dundee’s defence – now with just one clean sheet in their last 18 games – before guiding his shot over Bain.

Motherwell did have the ball in the net for a third time midway through the second half as the pair combined in reverse to allow an offside Moult to tap in, but the nearside assistant referee made the right call to rule it out. Sadly for the visitors, the same could not be said for his colleague in the middle of the park 17 minutes later.

“Looking at it there, it’s not a penalty,” conceded Dundee manager Paul Hartley, whose side crept back into the top six as a result of it. “I think we deserved it, we deserved at least a draw. Some of our play in the first half was excellent and we had numerous chances.

“I was pleased the players never gave up.”