SFA apologises to Thistle over substitution error

The Scottish FA has apologised to Partick Thistle for the error that prevented them fielding Ricco Diack as a late substitute in Sunday's decisive Scottish League Cup game at Motherwell.

Kris Doolan's Championship side needed a goal in the final seven minutes to win the game, overtake the hosts at the top of the group and qualify for the last 16.

But, as young striker Diack waited at the touchline to come on, he was told he was not on the fourth official's list of Thistle substitutes.

Doolan appealed for a return to paper team lists after the officials' failure to properly use the SFA's new online administration system Comet.

"I am trying to put a striker on to try to win the game and get through," Doolan told BBC Scotland. "Ultimately it is worth money for the club if we go through.

"We challenged it after the game and he is on the team lines. But it is all done online now. The referees have a screenshot of eight names out of nine... and his name is on the second page.

"Why don't we just go back to a bit of paper on the touchline? You can't have things like that happening when the season kicks off."

Doolan instead fielded winger Logan Chalmers but Thistle were unable to break the deadlock and the bonus point for winning the penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw was not enough for the Glasgow side to qualify.

Opposition manager Stuart Kettlewell, whose side progressed instead and will host Kilmarnock in the second round, had wondered why Diack was not among the substitutes.

"I've seen a team line with his name on it, but it's not in the place where the rest of the subs are," he said.

"We know he is a promising young player. We know he is someone who can come on and add something to their front line.

"I can understand Kris' frustration if it was down to something as simple as an admin error."