Houston angry with official

Peter Houston labelled the performance of referee Dougie McDonald as 'below average' after the 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Tannadice.

Striker David Goodwillie was again on target for the hosts, who were though eventually undone by a late winner from Gary Hooper - his second goal of the contest.

But Houston was unhappy with the incident where the official awarded the visitors a second-half penalty after goalkeeper Dusan Pernis looked to have brought down goalscorer Hooper, before then changing his decision after talks with an assistant.

"Dougie couldn't get his finger to the spot quickly enough. It's not the first he has given against us," Houston told BBC Sport. "I thought his performance was below average today. I've got to be honest.

"You look at the game and we were holding on quite comfortably and looked dangerous on the counter-attack," he added. "Yes, Celtic created chances but I thought we coped well with anything they threw at us. But then Dougie McDonald conspires to try to give a penalty against us.

"I am not saying that's the reason we lost the game, but I am looking for a more consistent performance from a referee who is meant to be one of the top referees."

Neither was the Arabs boss particularly impressed by the celebrations of Celtic manager Neil Lennon following their late goal.

"It was embarrassing. Celtic thought they had won the league here today," commented Houston. "The ref has been over talking to Neil Lennon and his backroom staff and when they score a goal they are 25 yards down the track. I'm going to start doing that if you are allowed to do that."

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