JIM Duffy says Aberdeen’s controversial opener was difficult to take after his side went down 2-0 to Aberdeen at Hampden Park on Saturday.

Adam Rooney opened the scoring for the Dons with a fine poacher’s header but the Irishman appeared to be in an offside position when he pounced to net after 70 minutes. 

And Duffy says there’s ‘no such thing as a hint of offside’ after being informed that the Dons’ deadlock-breaker was only marginally off.

He said: “I’ve been told that the first goal was offside, and if it is then that is certainly going to stick in my throat. 

“I haven’t seen [the decision] back but everyone’s told me it’s offside. They said it was ‘a hint of offside’ and I said, ‘well there isn’t a hint of offside, it’s either offside or it’s not offside’. And at nil-nil that’s the first goal so it’s a huge turning point in the game if that is the case.”

Duffy was delighted at the way his team stood up to their Premiership opponents — something Ton have been making a habit of this season having dispatched of both Kilmarnock and Hamilton Accies in the earlier rounds.

And the manager reckons it’s good for his team to have proven so many doubters wrong, even if victory was just too far out of reach for his players.

He said: “I think most people thought it would be a canter for Aberdeen, that it would just be an easy game.

“You hear a lot of people’s opinions — and don’t get me wrong I do it myself working in the media, so I have an opinion — but I think some people, not disrespect, but underestimate the desire and the organisation of the smaller clubs.

“I don’t think there was any stretch of the imagination that we were going to turn up [on Saturday] and be lambs to the slaughter, and I think the players did themselves justice. 

“And I think that was all, as a manager, you can ask for. Ultimately if they [Aberdeen] have got more quality, then that quality is going to rise and that’s fair enough.

“Aberdeen deserved to win, good luck to them, I’ll wish them well. 

“It’s just that if it is a contentious goal it just makes it a little bit more painful.”