Referee Was Spot-On With Penalty Decision Against Motherwell, Says Kevin Holt

[JoeCovenant]

Defender Kevin Holt has told referee John Beaton he made the right call in awarding the penalty that earned Dundee a crucial point against Motherwell.

Saturday’s 2-2 draw ended not so much in controversy as general agreement the whistler had blundered in pointing to the spot for a Chris Cadden tackle on Holt. ’Well manager Mark McGhee, while acknowledging it was an honest mistake, felt Beaton had made a glaring error when he decided the challenge was a foul. And his opposite number at Dens, Paul Hartley, agreed video evidence suggested it was fair, though he did think his side were earlier denied a clear penalty for a push on Rory Loy.

Dee left-back Holt is adamant Beaton judged the challenge accurately and believes they were the two men best placed to make a judgment. “I know it might not look like it on TV but it was a penalty,†said Holt. “I don’t think the lad (Cadden) even knew I was there. He didn’t see me coming and, when I’ve nicked in to get to the ball first, he’s caught my foot.

“When he gave the kick, the referee said he saw it and heard the contact. So did I. The boy’s not made any contact with the ball and caught me, so it’s a foul and the ref was right to give it.â€And Holt was at pains to stress this is not a case of him defending his own actions. “I’ve not dived or anything like that and it was given straight away, so I didn’t have time to appeal really. It is maybe one of those you’d call a bit soft but it was a penalty.

With Kane Hemmings expertly converting, the incident saw Dundee salvage a draw to move up into the top six. Rather than celebrate that, Holt admits the feeling in the home dressing-room on Saturday was one of frustration over not taking three points.

Dominating much of the possession and conceding a couple of bad goals was the reason for that. “To score so late on meant it felt good to take something but we felt we should’ve won. “We had a lot of the ball and a few chances, though credit should go to Motherwell because they defended well in the second half. “But even though we went behind twice in the first half, we felt we could have had the game won by half-time because we played some good football and created chances. “And we were disappointed with the goals we lost. Both were good finishes but we know we gave them too much space. “If, myself included, we’d been a bit closer to them, then maybe they wouldn’t have had the chance to get the shots away.â€

Looking at the bigger picture, though, the former Queen of the South man does believe Dundee are heading in the right direction. Right now, the Dens Park pitch doesn’t suit the team’s passing style but, so long as they stick to their strengths, he sees more wins coming. “The pitch is difficult. That’s not a criticism of the ground staff because they’ve done brilliantly to get it playable with all the rain there’s been. “Pitches everywhere have taken a battering because of the weather and a lot of them are very heavy. “That doesn’t suit us but we have to keep passing.

With the front players we have, we know if we give them the right service they’ll get goals. “Even when we knock the ball long we can’t just punt it up the park, we have to make sure we are giving boys like Kane and Gary Harkins the chance to do something with it.â€

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[gedee]

I would have taken more convincing if the situation was the ither way roond (benefiitting Motherwell) But as it stands ...It Didnae !!

So as far as ehm concerned ....Kevin Holt & the Ref, were spot on. I believe every word you say

[Cobra]

I was actually thinking at the weekend it's impossible to tell from the video whether it's a penalty and only Holt could really tell us if there was enough contact. Glad he's cleared that up.

[TheDarkBlues]

I was actually thinking at the weekend it's impossible to tell from the video whether it's a penalty and only Holt could really tell us if there was enough contact. Glad he's cleared that up.

Looked to me like there was contact and Holt defiantly was kicked by the Motherwell player. Soft penalty, very much so and to be honest, if I was a 'Well fan I would be pretty miffed off about it as well.

[ElectronBlue]

I was actually thinking at the weekend it's impossible to tell from the video whether it's a penalty and only Holt could really tell us if there was enough contact. Glad he's cleared that up.

To be fair, seeing as he did go down, he's not likely to say "I dived and totally conned the ref!".  

But the reality is that the ref was a lot closer than 99.99% of folk at the ground and had a clear line of sight, so saw an attacker being kicked by a defender - was it soft? - Yes.  Was it a penalty? - Yes.