Dundee Utd have VAR grievance after thriller as absence of key Hibs man explained

Jamie McGrath’s controversial 86th-minute spot kick earned the hosts a point as they fought back from two goals down.The penalty was awarded by referee Dan McFarlane following a review, after Kieron Bowie’s acrobatic effort struck Vicko Sevelj’s arm. The United midfielder was also sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

And Goodwin insists there was only going to be one outcome after the SFA admitted they got it wrong by not awarding Hibs a late penalty in their draw with St Mirren 13 days ago.

Goodwin, who watched Luca Stephenson hit a double either side of Zac Sapsford’s effort, said: “Personally I don’t think it’s a penalty, I’m sure David Gray will have a different opinion on it. I did have a slight concern coming into the game when I watched the VAR review.

“I heard what the head of referees (Willie Collum) was saying about the St Mirren game when the penalty wasn’t given. I think that’s really different. I think the St Mirren defender (Jayden Richardson) nearly caught the ball on that occasion. Whereas, Vicko – I don’t know what else he can do.

“I think it was really, really harsh. These decisions are very subjective. But certainly, with the opinion of what was given on the previous game here against St Mirren, I think subconsciously as a referee that must be in the back of your mind.

“I thought today, if there had been a 50-50 chance of a penalty today, I had a feeling it was going to go against us and that’s the way it did.”

‘Hard to digest’ for Hibs boss

Hibs boss Gray, whose team also found the net through an own goal from United goalkeeper Yevhenii Kucherenko and Bowie, said: “It’s quite hard to digest all that, to be honest. If I start with the positive side to it, you find yourself 3-1 down and don’t lose the game then that is a positive because the players kept going right to the very end.

“I thought on the whole defensively it was a poor performance from us – across the board, not just any individual. I thought as a group and I’ve just said that to the players as well, that we were a little bit reactive rather than being proactive, which is unlike us.”

Hibs were without influential midfielder Miguel Chaiwa and Gray explained that it was down to him returning late from international duty.

“He's okay,” said Gray. “He obviously went away with the national team and then had a little bit of extended time, just for personal reasons. He is back today, he arrived back not long before kick-off, but clearly been travelling for today all through the night, so he wasn't in condition to play.

“But he's fully fit in terms of, there's nothing physically wrong with him. He'll be ready to go come Monday to train with the group.”