NICKY Cadden is relieved Morton weren’t robbed of a place in the last 16 of the Betfred Cup by a dodgy offside decision.

Cameron Salkeld thought he’d won the tie against Queen of the South with a last-minute strike before the linesman raised his flag for offside.

The decision incensed boss David Hopkin, who was sent to the stand for his protests.

Ton secured the bonus point on penalties, with Cadden holding his nerve to score a second spot-kick in the shootout.

Cadden was glad the controversial decision didn’t affect the outcome and is now looking forward to facing Premiership outfit Hibs at Easter Road in the next round.

He told the Tele: “I’m delighted that we got through but obviously annoyed that we were taken to penalties, especially with the way that we conceded two stupid goals, as we were in a good position to win the game outright.

“We’ll have to see what happens in the next round; you never know what can happen as it’s a one-off game.

“We had a few chances at the end and it’s just disappointing that the winning goal from Cammy was ruled out for offside.

“It was a strange feeling going from celebrating to then seeing that the linesman had put his flag up.

“It was a strange decision [ruling it out for offside], but we can take positives from the game, we created chances right until the end.

“Hopefully we can be more clinical in future.”

Cadden, who was voted man of the match, was delighted to continue his goalscoring form, notching a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

The ex-Livingston man praised the Morton fans for creating a ‘brilliant’ atmosphere and believes their cup progression is crucial ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener at Ayr United.

He said: “I’m happy to keep my scoring run going and having a positive impact of the team.

“I took a few penalties for the manager at Livingston and did quite well. I’m happy that he’s got the confidence in me to take them here, so I think he’ll be quite pleased that I’ve scored that one.

“I thought the fans were brilliant, it was a really good atmosphere and it really drove us on going forward.

“Obviously I’m gutted we couldn’t get them the winner but hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come from them.

“The Betfred Cup has set us up nicely going into the Ayr game on Saturday.

“The main priority is to start the league off well.”

Cadden was joined at Cappielow by former Livingston teammates Cameron Blues and Henk van Schaik on Friday.

Blues, 20, penned a year long loan deal after a season at Berwick Rangers and centre half van Schaik agreed a one-year contract after the Ton paid a nominal fee for the Dutchman.

Cadden added: “I know Bluesy and Henk quite well and they’re good players.

“I think they’ll be a good addition to the squad and as you saw against Queen of the South they played well, so hopefully they will have a big part to play going forward.”