That left the pain of knowing had rookie referee Thomas Robertson got the decision right first time, the Dark Blues would not have had to play 85 minutes with 10 men and could have come away from Palmerston with points instead of a 2-0 defeat.

The first thing boss Jocky Scott did today, though, was acknowledge that the ref had done the right thing.

“I do have to say to the referee ‘great’, because he’s held up his hands and admitted it was not a goal-scoring opportunity and Bully should have stayed on the park,” said Jocky, who never argued with the validity of the actual penalty decision.

“I would add, though, that, while it’s great that Bully can play tomorrow, it does nothing to change the result last week.

“The boys played very well despite being down to 10 men for so long and, if it had been 11 against 11, it could have been a different result.”

The successful appeal means Bullock will be between the sticks against his old club, while the other former County keeper at Dens, the newly re-signed Derek Soutar, will be on the bench.

And, while victory over Aberdeen in the Co-Op Cup on Tuesday was a high, Jocky left his players in no doubt a win tomorrow is more important.

“I was pleased for the boys the other night, because they put in a performance that was even more convincing than the score suggested and, when the game went to extra time, I was concerned they wouldn’t get the win they deserved,” said Jocky.

“They did and I was delighted for them, but that does not change the fact tomorrow’s game is much more important for us.

“The league is our bread and butter — it is our No. 1 priority. Ross County are top and, if we beat them, we will be just behind them and that is where we have to be tomorrow.”

Injury victims Rab Douglas and Colin McMenamin both miss out, but, while there were a few other bumps and bruises from the Aberdeen tie, everyone else should be OK.