Away Hammering

I took my 3rd Hucknall Rangers official match of the season but this time it was away to Clifton, played near Boots' HQ in Beeston, filling in as Clifton couldn't get another referee. I spoke to their manager when I arrived who thanked me for being able to ref the game and was happy that I was a registered Hucknall player.

It was an easier game to referee than it was to watch as Clifton ran out 7-1 winners. They played great football and the Hucknall side had many lads in who had not played much together and so found it hard to gel or get any sort of rhythm together.

No complaints from either side over my performance so that can only be a positive thing and helps me further my progression and experience.

Easy games at the Manor

I took charge of 2 very easy games today, both at the Manor complex, where I had very little to do. These are always ideal, though the odd bit of controversy always makes for a fun weekend!

The mornings match was between Woodhouse Colts Blue and Shirebrook Rangers Blue at U10. I had taken Shirebrook last week in a 3-0 defeat against Southwell and mentioned in this blog that I thought they were a good team and would probably fair better in their next game. This became true today as they outplayed Woodhouse from the start and earned a comfortable 5-3 win. This may not sound as comfortable as it was b ut can be backed up by the fact they were 5-1 up with about 3 minutes left to play!

The second game was an U12 game between Woodhouse Colts and Teversal. Both sides were very even, with one or two key players and it wasn't a great surprise that the game ended level. I found this a very easy game to officiate with just one tricky moment being a potential penalty appeal as a Teversal player found his way around the keeper but a Woodhouse defender had made it back to cover. The ball had ran lose a couple of times but the keeper hadn't made it back to his position and it had ended with a Teversal striker with his back to goal, trying to keep posession whilst a Woodhouse defender tried to play the ball. Both players hist the deck at one point and I had to decide whether the Woodhouse player had tried to play the ball but brought down the striker instead, but the lack of appeal from either touchline made it easy to wave for play on. It had looked more like the Teversal player had backed into the defender enough to take them both over but their were feet everywhere!

All in all, a good day out!

Captain Gobby!

My second game in charge officially of a Hucknall Rangers match was against recognised opponents in New Venture. This was a team that we had played a fair few times over the past couple of seasons and every game was a close affair. They'd got the better of us once last season, whilst we'd had experience of victory against them, so it was assumed this tie would be just as difficult and could go either way.

Venture turned up late to the point where it looked as though they wouldn't make it for the allowed time, which is 45 minutes after the arranged kick off time and with Leon, the Hucknall manager not able to get hold of the opposition, the points let set to go to the home side. However, just a few minutes before the deadline, they rolled into the car park apologetically as there had been issues with the team meaning a bare 11 had been able to turn up and without a manager.

I spoke to the captain who had asked for some time to warm up and then we were good to go. He sounded a decent chap, someone I could get on with and wouldn' get much aggro from in the game but how wrong can I be?! Hucknall had taken an early lead and this had gotten his back up and shortly after he was fending off the pressure in his own box from Jimmy, Hucknall's winger who is one of the smallest senior players you're likely to come up against. I'd seen Jimmy put his hand in the lower back of the Venture captain but there was no pressure applied so there was nothing to call and so I was surprised to see him fall to the floor whilst appealing for a push. I'd waved him up and said there was nothing in it but he protested. I foolishly commented that Jimmy was only 'this big' (whilst indicating the height with my hand of someone about 3 foot nothing) which really got his back up. I didn't think he'd take it to heart and so for the entire game he used my comments against every decision I made. He was constantly on at me and I had tried to apologise but he was having none of it. There was nothing else I could do so I left him to his whineing.

His verbal torrents continued and began quickly to take the focus of the match away from his teammates who on numerous occasions asked him to shut up and get on with the game, which he took no notice of. Hucknall used this to their advantage and raced into a 4-1 half time lead. Whilst I was being accused of being totally against New Venture, their goal incedently came from a penalty which I had awarded for handball against a Hucknall defender.

He continued his protests during half time so I took him to one side to try to apologise for my comment again but he continued moaning so I simply said that I was't prepared to just take his mouth for the next 45 minutes so if he couldn't speak to me properly I would have no hesitation but to caution him. The Hucknall management had told me to get him in the book if he persists and not to take it but I simply said it was in their favour and I was happy to have him chewing my ear off if it made him feel better, I didn't mind.

The second half started as the first had ended, Hucknall dominant and Venture's captain moaning. Hucknall made it 5-1 and soon after I called the captain over and enough was enough, he was in the book. This kept him quite quiet for the rest of the game, he picked up again in the last 5 minutes but I wasn't going to send him off. I did feel for his side having no real leadership as their manager had let them down and they had no subs etc but this was no excuse for his behaviour. They pulled one back late on for 5-2 before Hucknall went 6-2 up. The way the game had gone was obviously haveing an effect on the other Venture players and soon after the 6th Hucknall goal, I did have to send one packing after he violently kicked out at a Hucknall player after losing the ball. It was vicious and I had no hesitation showing him the red but I was surprised to see his shock at the colour of the card.

Near the end of the game, I noticed the Venture captain on the floor holding his jaw and he made out that a Hucknall defender had struck him. In any other circumstance I would have believed him and tried to find anyone else to back his story up before dealing with the defender but on this occasion I knew he was pulling a fast one. I spoke to the linesman on the near side who said he hadn't been struck, but this was a Hucknall representative so I expected no less. I thought I would get more from Leon, the Hucknall manager but in an Arsene Wenger approach, he didn't see it! I could only then speak to the player in question who said he hadn't punched him but that the captain had been making reference to the fact that he was Polish and so he'd simply pushed him away. I gave him a caution for admitting a push but as I hadn;t seen it, this was purely for the Venture captains benefit and I didn't submit the caution after the game.

The game ended 6-3 as an admittedly soft penalty was awarded to New Venture with time almost out and the game finally ended. The captain then surprised all by turning into Mr Nice Guy and apologising for his behaviour and then tried to get out of his caution. He asked whether I would send it in, which I said of course. This annoyed him and he tried to plead with me insisting that I send the red in for violent conduct but not his. I wasn't going to back down and simply said it was going in to which he replied he was going to complain about my performance to which I was happy with and even offered him the email address of who it would need to go to. Needless to say, he didn't take it!

Week 2 - 2 out of 4 games!

My second week as a Youth League referee and already I was introduced to the joys that is administration! Initially down for 2 matches in Rainworth, I had already arranged one of them in the week when some paperwork indicating changes in fixtures came through the post. This pointed out that I was now to take 2 games in Shirebrook instead. I informed the Rainworth manager who had to then chase up his newly appointed official whilst I awaited hearing from the 2 games I was now doing.

These didn't come by Thursday so I chased them up myself. Both Shirebrook managers had sorted referees so I spoke to the Referees Secretary who told me I was down to do them so I should still be doing them. He chased the games up on my behalf so as far as I was concerned I would be doing the 2 Shirebrook games.

The first was Shirebrook Rangers Blue at U10, against Southwell United Squires. I got there well before kick off, which is always good to give me time to chat to the managers beforehand. I spent some time talking to the Southwell manager who had recently brought his side out of the Newark League for more competition. The Shirebrook manager I recognised from West Notts College, where I used to work.

The game was well contested - you don't see many otherwise at U10! Southwell ran out deserved 3-0 winners but Shirebrook showed glimpses of a very good team and I'm sure the next time I referee for them, I will see a scoreline more in their favour. Also, it has to be said, the half time cup of coffee was very well received too! Thanks!

I then headed for the second Shirebrook game, which was due to kick off within about 15 minutes of the first one ending so hoped they hadn't started to panic yet! It was only 5 minutes around the corner but when I got there I was surprised to see that the match had already commenced with another referee. I contacted the referee's secretary again, who was disappointed to hear of this, and so sorted me an U17's cup game in Skegby for later in the afternoon.

This match proved to be very entertaining indeed! I was pleasantly surprised at the start to see that all U17's matches are given 2 qualified assistants so I could trust the linesmen for once, rather than rely on the typically biased club-appointed assistants. For this one I was given a very young lad, making only his second appearance since being qualified, and a very experienced guy, who actually didn't arrive until 10 minutes into the game.

It was Skegby Colts against Ollerton and by the sounds of the pre-match team talks, Skegby were expected to walk it. I wasn't sure why, they were both in the same division, and were last season, finishing just 12 points apart and just 2 games into this season surely hadn't given much indication of who was much better than who?

Anyway, Skegby's arrogance didn't last long as just 5 minutes in I had to award a penalty to Ollerton for a trip in the box, which was scored. From this, the captain of Skegby saw fit to berate me with moans of diving but I assured these away. When Ollerton went 2-0 up, these intensified and he began to vent his frustrations in me into his tackles, to which Ollerton replied with strong challenges of their own. I had to call the 2 captains in to stop the game from boiling over and told both to concentrate on the game and leave any past decisions behind, whether right or wrong (right of course but it's what they wanna hear!). I could tell my warnings had fell on at least one set of deaf ears! Possibly directly because of this, Ollerton were soon 3-0 up.

The second half threatened to continue where it left off with Skegby verbally challenging every little decision so I made a point of saying it was doing them no favours and if they put as much effort into the game as they were moaning at me they might just get something from the game. This seamed to spark them into life as 30 seconds later they'd pulled one back. Virtually straight from the kick off it was 3-2 and less than 5 minutes later 3-3! Incredible really and just goes to show you if you focus on the task in hand rather than the official you'll be much better off.

Ollerton were on the backfoot but found a goal from somewhere putting them back in front but Skegby equalised with just a couple of minutes remaining to force extra time. They should really have gone into extra time a man down but for the only mistake in the game I admittedly made, when a frustrated Skegby midfielder - and a talented one at that, lunged two-footed into a tackle, clearly hurting an opponent in the process. I blew instantly and in my inexperience, was too indecisive to show my first red card. The fact that I'd even blew for a foul seemed to irritate the Skegby player into thinking he'd got the ball, it was a clear red but I only showed a yellow. Still, he was that furious he actually substituted himself, which did Ollerton no real favours as they were forced to replace their injured player who was actually taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg. This made my yellow card even more frustrating knowing that it should have been red.

Extra time commenced and a goalless first half was contested, before Ollerton made it 5-4 ealry in the second period. Skegby battled to find an equaliser and as it looked like time would evade them, they had the ball in the net with literally seconds remaining, only for the linesman to be flagging for offside. Skegby were fuming and all ran first to me to appeal before I cowardly pointed them in the way of the linesman who had given the decision (well he was a lot bigger than me so why not?!). It was clearly offside, a good 3-4 yards but Skegby wouldn't see this as they threw everything forward looking for the leveller. It was justice to Ollerton really who should have played extra time a man up, though I was disappointed not to be officiating my first penalty shoot out! The full time whistle was certainly met with plenty of moans as I was challenged by a couple of Skegby players, and the manager was in no mood for handshakes so I took the money and got out of there pronto! They had no complaints really, Ollerton were the only ones who had any rights to complain for the lack of a red card, but I had enjoyed my first game at U17 level, though wasn't in any great rush to take on another!

First Hucknall Game

Other than a few friendlies in pre-season and a couple of unofficial matches in the past couple of years, I lined up to take charge of my first official match for Hucknall Rangers in what would be a tough game against their biggest rivals, Bedstead.

I didn't know if it would be easier or more difficult to referee for my own team, as I knew they would expect more decisions to go their way but I had to remain unbiased and call the game as I saw it. I'd felt in the past that I would give more to the opposition when reffing for my own sides as not to look biased but knowing the opponents were not aware that I was officiating for a team I was registered for, I felt comfortable calling every decision as I saw it, whether either side were happy with the calls or not.

This match went really well in terms of my own performance. Hucknall were beaten 3-0 and could have no complaints as they were just not strong enough to match the quality of their rivals and no-one looked at me for the result. I'd called the match as I;d saw it and there was no real decisions I had to make so there was nothing to be frustrated about. I'd hope this was to be a sign for the rest of the season, but with better results for Hucknall.

Season starts - 3 games!

My first weekend as a qualified referee saw me travel to Lowdham for 2 games, one at U14 followed by one at U16. Wanting to make a good impression and start as I mean to go on - as well as give myself plenty of time to find the ground, I set off a good hour before the first kick off time, arriving well before both teams! The ground had one full size pitch, which in the morning was split into 2 junior pitches. I got there just as 1 junior game had started and another were awaiting a referee (so it would appear!).

I was sat on the touchline watching the first junior game when I was approached by the manager of one of the other junior teams who asked if I would ref their game as their official hadn't appeared. It was an easy enough game - Southwell United against Chesterfield at U8, which ended 7-1 to the hosts. That was a nice £15 unexpectedly earned in little over 20 minutes of meandering round a little pitch in the sun.

Straight after this the U14 match kicked off, with Lowdham Colts suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ashfield Athletic. There were some cracking goals in this game too. A good match to start in full size football with too as I had had doubts about my fitness to get around a pitch for the length of the game but this wasn't an issue as you actually don't do as much running as you would think, despite being almost constantly on the move.

The final game raised a few laughs as those that had spent the day at the ground were noticing I was about to do my third game on the bounce and with the sun beating down, they all wished me luck. Woodhouse Colts Yellows were the visitors and recognising the manager from an FA Coaching course I had taken at MTFC a few years ago, chatted breifly before the game.

His opinion of me had appeared to drop once the game kicked off though as I soon found out he was one of those managers who verbally contested every decision no matter how clear! I don't mind these managers though, in fact I was one myself, so makes a change me being on the receiving end of it. Lowdham Colts Reds U16 won this game 2-1, with the winner coming quite late on, and another belter it was too.

The second half was by far the longest 30 minutes of my life though as severe cramp had set in and I ended the game as one of those refs you see that rarely leave the centre circle! Luckily my eyesight is still with me (just!) so it wasn't noticed that I was lagging well behind play!

After the game, both managers congratulated me for a good game, including Ray (WCFC) who apologised for the fact he turns into an animal once the whistle has started play! A good start to what will hopefully be a very good season.

First caution!

After spending a couple of weekends away and with the youth league not starting until the following week, my first official game as a fully qualified referee came again for Headstocks against a team both they and I knew from having played them a few times in recent years, Optima.

I had been told to expect a very close game as both sides saw themselves as prospective league winners but with Headstocks being a newly formed team made up of plenty of players with experience of playing at a much better standard, they were soon in control of the game. In fact, they opened the scoring with less than 30 seconds on the clock with probably the best goal I'm likely to see all season. An Optima goalkick made it to the half way line but an Headstocks striker thought nothing to lashing it back on the volley and it flew past the keeper who had no chance.

Personally I felt I had a decent game with nothing much to write home about (though I always manage to write plenty as you'll soon see!) but there was a big talking point near the end of the first half. Headstocks were 3-0 up and were taking a throw in near the half way line on the far side. One of the Optima players was frustrated at how the game was turning out and began to complain at every decision that went against them. The throw in was taken and the Optima player called for a foul throw. I signalled to play on and waved away his protest to be met with a shout of "F*** Off then!". To me, this was a red card offence which we learnt to always deal with straight away irrespective of where the play was, so I blew to bring the game back, to the disappointment of the Headstock lads who had just made a break down the wing and were outnumbering their opposition in the box.

I called the player in question to one side and his captain came with him to plead his case, saying he was aiming his frustration at the captain and not at me, to which I didn't believe. A couple of Headstocks lads came too to protest against the call to bring the game back when they were on the attack and I told their skipper I was doing it as I was to send the player off but due to the nature of the game, I had reduced it to a caution at the request of his captain and so apologised to the home side for breaking down their attack. I told the player who I was to caution that I was of no doubt that he was aiming his words at me and needed to quash his frustrations otherwise he would be on the pitch for not much longer. I showed him the yellow card and said I'd give him the benefit and the game got back underway. I felt I could've handled this better, by letting the play continue before bringing it back but I was afraid I would not know who I was going back to speak to wanted to do it there and then, and was slightly disappointed to have reduced it to a yellow card when it was a certain red but my soft side came through as his side were ggetting nothing from the game. I would've also felt bad for Headstock if they hadn't been a few goals up and running away with the game.