Pressure piles on Paatelainen after Hibs crash out of cup to Morton

MIXU Paatelainen was sent to the stands in the closing minutes of a sensational Co-operative Insurance Cup match at Easter Road last night. The Hibernian manager, back in the dugout for the first time after serving a two-match ban, let his frustration boil over in the closing minutes of a game in which his team were beaten 4-3 by Morton in 120 pulsating minutes.

Although Hibs had gone 2-0 down in the second half of the second-round match after failing to convert a number of decent scoring chances, they appeared to have turned the contest round when two late goals took it into extra time.

Substitute Steve Pinau then put Paatelainen's side ahead in the first minute of the additional 30, and as both sides began to flag after that, it looked like Hibs were going to make their way into the last 16.

But then a penalty from man-of-the-match Iain Russell put Morton level, and in an enthralling finish Alan Jenkins scored the winner following a free-kick. Afterwards, Paatelainen declined to criticise his players, focusing his wrath on referee Iain Brines for the penalty and other decisions.

"I'm very disappointed for the players, because they put in a huge effort," Paatelainen said. "What a comeback. That's the spirit we want."

The manager implied that spirit would have been enough to give his team victory but for poor decisions by Brines, and brought in video evidence to the post-match press conference to back up his point.

"We are 3-2 up. The referee gives a penalty against us which hits Dean Shiels on his ribs. Its never a penalty – it doesn't hit his arm. He's got a red mark on his ribs.

"They score, 3-3. Their fourth goal I felt (came from] an assault on Chris Hogg. (Eric] Paartalu never looked at the ball. It should have been a free kick to us."

Instead, the award went to Morton, who scored from a rebound. Paatelainen was also incensed that while both physios came on to treat Hogg and Paartalu, it was only the Hibs player who was told to leave the pitch.

The video produced by Paatelainen did appear to back up his case, but in real time many observers had thought Shiels arms had made contact – whether deliberately or otherwise was hard to discern.

The Finn, who had spent the first half of the game in the stands looking on, claimed he had done nothing to merit being sent back there by Brines. "Of course I said it should be our free-kick," he continued. "But there were no strong words at all.

"I took a towel I had been sitting on and threw it on to the floor because I was so disgusted. Was that a crime? What about when bottles start flying around?"

Understandably, Davie Irons, the Morton manager, was somewhat happier after the game. His team have only two draws from four matches in the First Division, but the levels of skill and energy they showed here suggest they will soon be moving up the league from their present position of second bottom.

"I said to the boys at the start of extra time they'd won the game once and they had to win it again," Irons said. "I thought they were magnificent, right through the side. There's so much more to come from this group of players."

Irons had a different view of the penalty from his Hibs counterpart. "(Shiels] has come out with his arms up. It's goal-bound."

Managers won't know SFA decisions until October

MIXU Paatelainen and Falkirk manager John Hughes and will not know until October whether they face action over their latest outbursts against referees.

Last night's Co-operative Insurance Cup second round ties involving the two clubs saw both men launch stinging attacks on officials.

Following his side's 3-1 victory over Raith, Hughes laid into the Scottish Football Association's head of referees, Donald McVicar.

And Paatelainen followed suit by slamming referee Iain Brines after seeing his side suffer the shock of the round so far, a 4-3 home defeat to First Division Morton.

Asked if the pair would face action over their comments, an SFA spokesman said: "That's a matter for the General Purposes Committee.

The next meeting of the General Purposes Committee is in October."

Hughes' outburst followed comments from referees' chief McVicar that the Bairns boss was "mischief-making again" after he criticised Brines in the wake of Saturday's 3-0 Clydesdale Bank Premier League defeat at Celtic.