Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell was counting the cost of their afternoon in Paisley after getting knocked out of the Viaplay Cup and seeing new striker Mika Biereth suffer a concerning knee injury.
The Steelmen fell to a 1-0 second-round defeat at St Mirren after Caolan Boyd-Munce scored a spectacular ninth-minute goal when he fired a loose ball into the top corner from 20 yards.
Motherwell struggled to get going until after the break, but Dan Casey appealed strongly for a first-half penalty after claiming former team-mate Mikael Mandron had handled.
With no VAR in place for the game, Kettlewell also felt referee Willie Collum missed a clear red card for Charles Dunne after the former Motherwell defender fouled on-loan Arsenal striker Biereth and received a yellow in stoppage time.
“I don’t want to sit here as a guy who continually makes excuses, but there are two massive decisions in the game,” the Motherwell boss said.
“One is a stonewall penalty in the first half, Mikael Mandron handballs it. I’m always a huge believer in a player’s reaction – he (Casey) knows it has come off the hand, that his hand is outstretched, which is everything that the video shows.
“But I’m more upset with the challenge in the second half from Charles Dunne on Mika Biereth, it’s an absolutely horrendous tackle, two-footed and straight-legged.
“I’ve now got a striker sitting on the treatment bed down there.
“I was instructed that these types of tackle were outlawed in the game. It’s an absolute shocker, red card all day long – but the excuse is that they don’t have VAR.
“I’m counting the cost. I’m really angered by the tackle that comes onto a striker, which by the way, as a young lad that we have on loan from Arsenal, we talk about protecting these creative players and all the rest of it, but I think that’s just words sometimes. We have to do more to try and protect them, because it’s a bad, bad tackle.
“He’s struggling to put weight on it and that would generally tell you this is going to get worse through time.
“The one thing I know now is that he’s struggling and has a fair bit of pain on the inside of his knee, so we’re going to have to strip it back and find out how bad it is.”
On his team’s performance, Kettlewell said: “The disappointing thing I spoke about at half-time was the backward step we took after the goal.
“It spooked us a little bit and that’s not been us. We rectified a little bit in the second half but we should have shown more.”
St Mirren assistant manager Diarmuid O’Carroll was delighted for former Northern Ireland Under-21 international Boyd-Munce, who replaced injured captain Mark O’Hara ahead of the previous win over Dundee.
The 23-year-old former Middlesbrough and Birmingham midfielder celebrated his first goal for St Mirren and only the second of his career.
“It’s brilliant for him, good for confidence and his family were watching,” O’Carroll said.
“He hasn’t had that many first-team games. It was a massive day for him, just staying in the team because he made a little mistake last week. The gaffer stood by him because he’s a massive talent.
“Mark O’Hara is club captain and a big influence, but Caolan has shown he’s more than capable of coming in. When Mark’s back fit there’s no reason why he can’t keep someone else out of the team.
“He got an international call-up in March and he will again if he keeps this up.
“He does things that make you stand up and say ‘what a pass that was’ or ‘what a shot’ – like the goal. He just needs to keep working.
“He’s like a youth player in his development because he has only played 10 to 15 first-team games.
“(Northern Ireland assistant) Jimmy Nicholl was watching and I’m sure it will be a positive report going back to Michael (O’Neill).”
Martino resigns as Inter Miami coach after early playoff exit
Gerardo Martino has resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons, the MLS side have confirmed.
The Argentine ends his 17-month stint in charge of the Herons following their MLS Cup exit just under a fortnight ago.
Martino, who oversaw Miami's Leagues Cup triumph soon after his arrival last season, guided the franchise to this year's Supporters' Shield with a regular-season record tally of 74 points.
However, they were eliminated by his former side Atlanta United in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Miami opened their best-of-three series against Atlanta with a 2-1 win, only to lose by the same scoreline in Game 2 before falling to a dramatic 3-2 defeat in the decider.
“It has been an honour to work at such a special club, and to lead such a special team," Martino said.
"I’ve enjoyed my stay at Inter Miami and will treasure the memories made and relationships forged here for the rest of my life.
"I depart with nothing but gratitude for my time here and would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone that made it possible."
Fonseca: Milan have 'respect' but 'are not afraid' of Juventus
Paulo Fonseca said Milan have plenty of "respect" for Juventus, but his side "are not afraid" of their rivals ahead of their Serie A clash on Saturday.
After a slow start to the season, Milan are six points adrift of Juventus in the table, but only a place behind them, as they aim to make up the ground on the top six.
The Rossoneri have played a game less than Thiago Motta's side, and could catapult themselves back into the Scudetto picture with a win this weekend.
Milan return to the San Siro for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Napoli at the end of October, and could register two consecutive home defeats in Serie A for the first time since between October and November in 2023.
"It is not decisive, but it is important, like all of them," Fonseca told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
"I can't say that the game against Juve is more important than the next one against Empoli because we need consecutive victories.
"It's a different game, but I always think positively. We are Milan, we have a lot of respect for the 'Bianconeri', but we are not afraid. We are here ready to win."
A boost for Milan is that Juventus will be without top scorer Dusan Vlahovic for Saturday's clash after returning from international duty with a muscle problem.
Despite the Serbian's absence, Fonseca was aware of the danger his probable replacement, Timothy Weah, would pose, having managed him during his time at Lille.
"Juve knows how to adapt very well. I don't know if Weah will play," Fonseca said.
"Weah is very fast and attacks deep, not like Vlahovic. It will not be the same thing of course.
"We will have to pay attention to movements in depth and less to support work, because he is a player who does less of this job."
While Fonseca has endured a stuttering start to his tenure at the San Siro, Milan have shown they have the ability to match the very best.
They beat rivals Inter in October before stunning Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last Champions League encounter, keeping their play-off hopes alive.
"I believe it's a matter of motivation and not pressure," Fonseca said.
"Against Inter, Juve and Real it is easy to be motivated, it's more difficult to go to Cagliari and have the same motivation.
"Pressure is always with us, every day. If we don't want to have pressure, then we shouldn't be here."
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
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