Scotland 2-1 Republic of Ireland: Stephen Kenny labels Hampden Park defeat 'harsh'
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Stephen Kenny claimed Alan Browne was pushed by a Scottish player before handling in the penalty area although it appeared the culprit may have been Republic skipper John Egan
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny labelled the 2-1 Nations League defeat by Scotland as "harsh" as the home side came from behind to win with a late penalty.
The Irish boss questioned the awarding of the spot-kick after substitute Alan Browne clearly handled in the area.
Kenny felt Browne had been pushed by a Scottish player but replays suggested it had been Irish skipper John Egan.
"Alan's hands are raised but he's been shoved by a Scottish player," he said.
"I've had a quick look at it. There's a group of players there so it's hard to discern exactly but it looks like he was pushed off balance by a Scottish player, which forced him to raise his hands.
"We've played well for long periods tonight and it's a harsh defeat."
Ryan Christie stroked home the 80th-minute penalty to leave the Scots needing only a point away to Ukraine on Tuesday to win Group B1 after Egan's first-half Republic goal had been cancelled out by Jack Hendry's 49th-minute header.
The Irish were good value for their half-time lead after Egan's 18th-minute volley while Troy Parrott missed a glorious chance to put the visitors ahead once more after Hendry's leveller.
"We played brilliantly in the first half and showed the ability to control the game and composure under pressure," added Kenny, whose side comprehensively defeated Scotland 3-0 in Dublin in June before drawing with Ukraine in Poland three days later.
"We started the second half well and that goal [the equaliser] was against the run of play really.
"I thought we responded well to conceding the goal. Obviously we had a couple of great chances to take the lead but we didn't capitalise."
Troy Parrott missed a glorious chance to put the Republic 2-1 up at Hampden Park
Matt Doherty also had a Republic opportunity after the Scots' equaliser but Parrott's point-blank miss after being played in by impressive Swansea striker Michael Obafemi is the moment Irish fans will look back on.
"He knows he should have scored it but listen… he's been absolutely brilliant for us," added Kenny of Parrott, who had a first-half goal correctly disallowed for offside.
"He absolutely worked his socks off and his finish for the disallowed goal was brilliant.
"Our last three performances [have been very good] where we've beaten Scotland 3-0, were excellent against Ukraine and tonight is a very good performance."
Josh Cullen's yellow card in Saturday's game means he will be suspended for Tuesday's concluding Nations League game at home to Armenia when the Irish will be expected to comprehensively avenge their shock 1-0 defeat in Yerevan three months ago.
"We'll get ourselves ready for Tuesday night and Armenia. We've already sold 44,000 tickets which shows the passion for the team with this support," concluded Kenny.