MOTHERWELL midfielder Morgaro Gomis has blasted referee Steven McLean for failing to award a free-kick to his side in the lead up to the late winner for Inverness on Saturday.

Gomis was dispossessed by Inverness substitute Jordan Roberts in midfield, who advanced to around 25 yards out before unleashing a stunner into the top corner.

The wonder-strike sent the Steelmen crashing out of the Scottish Cup, leaving manager Mark McGhee and the home fans furious after the match that the last-gasp sickener had been allowed to stand.

Gomis, making his first start since joining the club on-loan from Hearts during the week, was left devastated by the decision.

"I think it was a free-kick,” he said.

“I was going forward and he just came from behind and pushed me, so I don't think he could have been playing for the ball. He was just trying to get me out of the way.

"They went on to score that goal and that was us out of the cup.

"I told the referee that I thought it was a free-kick. He thinks it wasn't, but I think, if you ask anyone else, they will all say the same thing. That it was.

"He was giving free-kicks like that during the whole game. That was one of the most obvious ones and he didn't give it, which is hard to take as they scored after it.

"We played some good football and were unlucky to lose the game.”

Gomis felt that the decision and the end result was incredibly harsh on Motherwell as they had done at least enough to merit a replay in the Highlands.

A deeper concern perhaps for Mark McGhee will be that Roberts’ last-minute winner is far from an isolated occurrence, with late goals costing Motherwell dearly in each of their last three matches.

First, they were denied victory over Dundee as referee John Beaton awarded a highly-dubious penalty against them at Dens Park.

Then, last Tuesday night, Stevie Lawless’s deflected effort in the dying stages of the clash with Partick Thistle saw them fall to defeat.

Add Roberts’ late strike to that list and it starts to look like a worrying trend, however Gomis, like his manager, says they have simply been the victims of some poor refereeing and some horribly bad luck.

With huge clashes to come in the next week against fellow Premiership strugglers Kilmarnock and Dundee United, Gomis is hoping that their fortunes will turn quickly.

He added: "This has been happening over the past few weeks, playing well, but not getting the result we want.

"It is just luck, I guess. We aren't having much at the moment and I hope we can put things right next week and win against Kilmarnock because that is a big game.

"It is going to be a hard game. Kilmarnock are not a bad side and sometimes play some good football, so we are going to have to be patient.

"They are a bit like us. We need to win and they need to win.

“We want to win every game that we play in, whether that be the league or the cup.

"I guess we can focus on the league now, but we are not happy about being out of the cup."