St Mirren skipper Stephen McGinn says his landmark 200th appearance for the club was spoiled by the man in the middle.
The club stalwart pulled on the stripes to line up against a Hibs side managed by the gaffer who handed him the armband in Saints’ Championship-winning side.
And while he was proud to reach the significant milestone, he felt the manner in which they lost the match – refereed by Alan Newlands – marred the special night for him.
“That wasn’t how I wanted to mark my 200th appearance,” McGinn told Express Sport .
“For long spells we were excellent but decisive moments in both boxes cost us.
“In the second half we really sensed if we got an equaliser we would go on to win it. Some games you can just feel it building. But then we don’t score and don’t take good opportunities.
“With the goalkeeper’s booking, if I dive in like that I’m getting a red card no matter where the ball goes. It’s a dangerous tackle. The ref made his decision but if the goalie doesn’t bring Kyle Magennis down you never know where he might end up.
“We then lose a penalty on the break and then get a goal back when it was too late.”
McGinn has seen just about everything during his two spells at St Mirren .
And he feels he knows when a team has got away with one in Paisley, believing the Hibs result was one such game.
He said: “I don’t think Vaclav had a save to make and we lost two poor goals. We always have to work hard for our moments and we need to be better in those moments.
“For long spells the other night I thought we were excellent and moved the ball well. You sensed something was happening on the park.
"One or two of their players even commented that they had got away with one on Tuesday night. But that’s no consolation for us.”
Despite the result going against St Mirren, McGinn knows when the dust has settled his 200th appearance will be something to savour.
He added: “It’s a landmark I wanted to reach.
“ It’s something I’ll look back on and be really proud of.
“I remember 200 games ago getting on up at Inverness for my debut and if you’d offered what I’ve achieved back then I would have snapped your hand off. I just wish I could have marked it with a good result.
“I remember number 100 against Ayr at home and that day I set the target of 200. I’m still only 30 so I’d love to make it to 300 games one day.”
