THEY say that when you are down the bottom of the table, the breaks and the decisions don’t go for you. And when the Premiership’s bottom two sides faced off at Dens Park on Saturday, they both came away with grievances over refereeing calls that they felt robbed them of a chance of a crucial victory.
Certainly, Simeon Jackson was convinced that St Mirren were robbed of their second win of the season by dodgy penalty calls. The forward was awarded a spot-kick in the first-half by referee Bobby Madden and converted it to put St Mirren ahead, before Kenny Miller hit back to drag the home side level.
Jackson felt though that St Mirren should have had at least one more penalty award in the second half. The forward was booked for simulation as he went down under a challenge from Genseric Kusunga, before further shouts from Paul McGinn and Danny Mullen were waved away.
“He has dangled a leg out, but he hasn’t caught me and I have got up as quick as I could,” explained Jackson about his own claim.
“At the end of the day it is still simulation according to the referee. It was harsh but the referee sees it differently.
“I thought maybe we should have had another penalty on with Danny’s. I haven’t seen it back but they were all over him and there was another shout with Paul’s.”
Dundee boss Jim McIntyre was meanwhile adamant that the penalty St Mirren did get shouldn’t have been awarded, feeling that the contact made on Jackson by Cammy Kerr wasn’t sufficient for the striker to hit the deck.
But Jackson said: “It was 100 per cent a penalty. I felt I got myself in the right position and I felt he pushed me in the back and that was it. There were also a few other ones, but you take the ones you get.
“[McIntyre] is standing somewhere else. He will see it from his perspective, but I got in the right area and it was a penalty.”
Given the start to Dundee’s campaign, their players have probably been getting enough earache off the punters without their teammates pitching in. But Benjamin Kallman knew he was never likely to be enjoying the quiet life when his veteran strike partner Miller rocked up at Dens Park.
The 38-year-old has never been shy about advancing his opinion, but while Kallman may not always welcome his strike partner’s tuppence-worth while on the field of play, he knows that heeding his words of advice will be for his greater good in the long-run.
And in a season of scant consolations for the Dundee faithful, the developing understanding between their front pairing was one of a few positives that could be gleaned from another ultimately frustrating afternoon.
“There looks like there are signs of a nice partnership developing between us,” said Kallman. “It’s working out well between us and we combined to score a good goal. Just a moment before the goal he was actually telling me to give him a pass like that and I managed it and he scored.
“He was probably moaning earlier when I had the chance to put the ball across to him, but I still think I took the right option. Obviously, I’m 18 years younger than him so it’s difficult to complain!
“Usually I just take the advice he gives me. He obviously knows a lot and I will also learn a great deal from him.
“Every time he says something to me I always take it as a good thing even though it’s sometimes critical. I always take it as a good thing. He’s been around and knows a lot - what a career he’s had. So obviously it makes sense to listen to him.”
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