Inverness CT 1 Aberdeen 1: Butcher can expect to be in hot water after explanation of missed penalty fails to wash

Monday 17 September 2012

Vincent Lunny will be dusting down the Scottish Football Association's naughty step today in preparation for another visit from Terry Butcher after the comments made by the Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager following this absorbing and passionate affair.

Cammy Smith heads in an equaliser for Aberdeen five minutes from the end. Picture: SNS

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Frank Gilfeather

The Englishman bounced up and down with fury because of referee George Salmond's insistence that no infringement had been committed when Aaron Doran hit the deck in the penalty area as, 10 minutes before the end, he prepared to fire a shot at the Aberdeen goal. Doran had simply scuffed his shot and fallen over, the official told Butcher, and had not been fouled by Mark Reynolds. Most people – including Craig Brown, the Aberdeen manager – agreed with that assessment, although video evidence later confirmed that Salmond got it wrong.

Cue a rant from Butcher, which included comments that even a Martian on holiday in Venus would have seen it was a clear penalty and that he was likely to be hauled before the SFA to receive sanctions.Before Inverness had their noses put out of joint, they had them in front, Richie Foran converting a penalty awarded after Russell Anderson reduced Shane Sutherland to a crumpled heap, a challenge that brought the Aberdeen captain a red card. Ten minutes earlier, the home side had been reduced to 10 men when Salmond judged that Owain Tudur Jones, returning after a two-match ban for a previous red card, had been rather too robust with his tackle on little Ryan Fraser and deserved to be sent off.Butcher thought that decision unfair, too, suggesting that had he been playing today he would be sent to prison for assault. Ryan Esson, the Inverness goalkeeper, agreed that Tudur Jones had merely mistimed his challenge."We felt a sense of injustice, and there's no doubt it brought on a siege mentality," Esson said. "We had to go that extra yard and I really feel for the guys as they deserved more than they got for their efforts in the second half."Owain is not that type of player. He said Fraser got to the ball ahead of him and his momentum just took him through the player. He's a big unit and you are going to feel it when he hits you, but from my point of view he just mistimed it. Sadly the referee didn't see it that way and once he has made his mind up that's it."I spoke to Owain after the game and he was devastated. He said he couldn't believe what is going on and he's never been in this situation before in his life."When Cammy Smith's header from a Jonny Hayes cross beat Esson five minutes from the end, it put a gloss on an Aberdeen performance that otherwise would not have been there. "We under-performed," said Hayes, back at the ground he had left in the summer. "We were caught square all over the place, were pretty sloppy from first to last and weren't at the races, but Inverness must take credit for us not playing as well as we hoped."Hayes recognised that Tudur Jones, his former Inverness team-mate, "isn't that kind of player" and told Fraser he should view it as a compliment that "people try to kick him". The youngster may not quite see it that way, however, as top-flight defenders now view his trickery as a threat to be dealt with, sometimes in the harshest manner.

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Inverness CT 1 Aberdeen 1: Butcher can expect to be in hot water after explanation of missed penalty fails to wash

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