St Mirren striker Collin Quaner was accused of conning the match official against Ross County – but the former Huddersfield Town man says he didn’t dive.
The German forward returned from injury on Saturday and he found himself at the centre of controversy. Leo Hjelde made contact with Quaner in the box and he tumbled to the ground, County manager John Hughes saying referee Greg Aitken was conned.
The Ross County manager wasn’t happy with the former Huddersfield Town man. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
But Quaner says that’s far from the truth as Jamie McGrath stepped up to score the spot-kick and secured a Buddies 1-0 win: “We had the same situation in recent weeks and it’s never nice to lose a game because of a penalty.
“It’s not my job to make the decision if it was a penalty, but obviously I’m quite positive going into the box and then there was definitely a contact. Then it’s up to the referee to make the decision. It was definitely not a dive.
“In the box, every defender knows these days that everyone has to be careful. I’m positive I got into the box and felt the contact. Our manager is always telling us if it gets to defending inside the box, you have to be careful not to make any contact because as you see any single, small contact can lead to a penalty.”
Not a diver. (Photo by John Early/Getty Images)
McGrath’s spot-kick was crucial, as it has put St Mirren on the brink of a top six Premiership finish for the first time in their history. Quaner hopes they can get things over the line over their next two games against Rangers and Hamilton.
He said: “It definitely was an important win for us. Everybody in the team is really happy. I was keen to get back. I had an unfortunate start and have been working hard the last few weeks to get back and get fit.
“The lads have been working really hard the whole season to get to where we now are. The top six is definitely the main goal for us and that’s what we’re working towards. We’re in a good place. For me it was unfortunate to get injured so early, but now I’m happy to be back and first of all the team’s main goal of getting to the top six is most important.”