Gutted Motherwell boss Graham Alexander says Hibs' second goal in their Scottish Cup thriller shouldn't have stood.
The Fir Park gaffer believes Jackson Irvine was offside when he made it 2-0 to the home side before the Steelmen's incredible comeback.
Alexander's men hit two late goals to take it to extra-time and penalties before going out with a 4-2 defeat from the spot.
The Well manager was proud of their efforts but was left to rue a poor decision by assistant referee Ross Macleod in allowing Irvine's goal to stand.
After a rollercoaster cup tie, Alexander said: “Their second goal was offside. I've only seen it afterwards, not at the time.
“But it's offside. What can you do?
“I'm gutted for everyone because I thought the players were magnificent.
“We came with a game plan to frustrate at first which worked really well. Hibs didn't have a shot on target in the first half.
“We took a step back at half-time for some reason. We allowed them easy possession in our half and we were punished for it, sorely with a couple of goals.
“But the reaction from that point was absolutely amazing. The players showed character to get on the ball, press from the front and show what a quality team we can be.
“To come back against a fantastic team like Hibs away from home in such a pressure game, to get to 2-2, was incredible.
“I thought there was only one winner at that point but we just couldn't get that goal before penalties.”
Motherwell had played second fiddle to Hibs before Irvine made it 2-0 with just 10 minutes left.
But Alexander says his side then showed just how good they can be by levelling it up in dramatic style.
He said: “I don't regret that we didn't show more intent earlier. We've come to a team like Hibs and it went to 120 minutes.
“We didn't want to chase the game early on because we've lost players in certain areas so had to change the way we play.
“Between their three forward, they have a fantastic goal record. But they didn't have a shot on target in the first half.
“I do regret the way we started the second half, we didn't put pressure on them. We know we can defend the first goal better.
“But Hibs have qualified for Europe and in two semi-finals. Over the piece, we showed we're a very good team.”
After Christian Doidge and Irvine had put Hibs ahead in the Scottish Cup showdown, before Rickie Lamie and sub Tony Watt sent it to extra-time.
Watt was a catalyst for Motherwell's revival but Alexander admits the striker probably shouldn't have been on the pitch after injury.
The manager said: “Tony was a gamble for us. If it was a league game we wouldn't have done it because we're safe now.
“Because it was the cup, it was win or bust. Tony put himself forward and only trained on Friday afternoon, which was light.
“We thought it was worth having him in the squad. He wanted to play which was a surprise to me because I didn't expect to have him back.
“Even if he can't train for a couple of weeks, we felt it was worth going for it today.
“And Tony really helped us when he came on.”
