Dundee 1 Dundee United 2: match report Brown said: "It was an even game, both teams went for it. I'm pretty bitter about a decision that never went our way, a clear throw-in, that ultimately results in a free-kick that shouldn't have happened. I don't really need to talk about how you defend it because that shouldn't come into play if they do their jobs right. An official has cost this football club a replay and a chance to get to a semi-final. That decision in the first half basically took it out of our hands. Brown said he spoke to the Scottish Football Association observer, former referee Bob Valentine, after the game. He said: "The referee supervisor came out and said the ball was out. It's human error but it's a sore one to take. I'm 10 yards away and he's right there. How he can't see that... I don't want to be throwing it all on the official but that one decision...you need them to be on their game, they don't do it right and it has cost us the game. Take that away and it was an even game. But I wish United all the best. United manager Jackie McNamara did not feel the incident was crucial but he admitted it had been an even encounter. McNamara said: "I saw them appealing but I didn't actually see it was out. I think things went for both teams, some decisions. He added: "It was quite an even match, we can play a lot better but Dundee made it hard for us. It was a typical cup tie and derby, not a lot of quality or passing. But credit to our lads, and Dundee as well, they put a lot of pressure on us and put extra men up front. I thought we coped with it really well. They were on top and we scored a fantastic goal, a great run from Stuart Armstrong and a great pass to Gary Mackay-Steven. Dundee had been on top and it was frustrating because they were getting the second balls. But we battled away and got there in the end. Meanwhile Steven Pressley hopes that Falkirk's progression to the semi-final on Saturday can help him retain the services of his young squad. The Bairns clinched their place in the last four with a 2-1 victory over Hamilton at New Douglas Park - achieving their second major cup semi-final in two seasons. Following last season's 3-1 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final, Falkirk saw Murray Wallace and Kallum Higginbotham depart the club and Pressley is looking to avoid a repeat of that this time round. He explained: "I lost two players straight after last year's Hampden appearance and the one thing about this semi-final is I hope that we have breathing space so we don't have to lose players. It is one thing developing them but you want to be able to keep them to build a team. Playing at Hampden is a great chance for the players to showcase their talents on a big stage. Pressley also praised the efforts of his side in holding on to their lead after Andy Ryan struck to reduce the deficit. The Falkirk boss added: "I thought it was a wonderful game, great credit has to go to Hamilton because at times they put us under enormous pressure, but I thought we stood strong and we worked to a game plan. We tried to bring them on to us a bit more and utilise our speed on the counter-attack and I thought it worked to good effect. I thought we showed great resilience over the last 10 minutes. Hamilton striker Ryan admitted he apologised to his team-mates after spurning a wonderful opportunity to get Accies back on terms. Ryan somehow scooped the ball over the bar with the goal gaping just minutes after scoring to get his side back in the match. "I completely misjudged it," said Ryan. It was put on a plate for me and I have to score. I said I was sorry to the guys at full-time but they said I wasn't the only one to miss a chance. I don't think it will be hard to pick ourselves up from this disappointment, we have a great bunch of boys here with great character and spirit.