DISMAYED Morton striker Declan McManus revealed that several members of the Stenhousemuir side admitted he was fouled by goalkeeper Greg Fleming.

The Ton ace was sent sprawling after running clear and knocking the ball round the advancing custodian in the 53rd minute of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Ochilview.

Referee Alan Muir intimated to team-mate Thomas O’Ware that the 20-year-old had jumped out of the way of the challenge rather than been fouled or dived.

However, McManus, who netted his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring, was adamant he had been taken out and admitted he was left astonished by the whistler’s decision.

He told the Tele: “To be honest, I don’t see why the ref would think I would ever go down in that situation.

“I’ve knocked it round the keeper with an empty goal. I don’t see why anybody would ever think I would go down looking for a penalty.

“I don’t think any of their defenders were close enough to catch me or get back in. It was an empty goal. He [Greg Fleming] clearly connected with me. Nearly every one of their players said to me that they heard the collision. They said it to me straight after when they took the goal kick. The big boy at the back, [Stewart] Greacen, said to me that he thought it was a penalty.

“The keeper admitted there was contact. Boys who were on their bench came up and said to me that they heard it from there. The boy nearly took my shinpad off, but the referee said to Tam O’Ware that I jumped out of the way.

“If we get the penalty and score it, I think that we would have gone on and won the game. We were on top.

“Sometimes you don’t get the breaks, but we weren’t good enough first half at all, so we can’t blame it all on the referee. That’s not what we’re about.

“We were brilliant after they scored their second.

“That’s the way we should have started, and if we did I don’t think we would be going away empty handed. We missed a big chance to go top.”