"Well done ref!"

At last! After 3 full months of tiring, difficult though thoroughly enjoyable games as an FA qualified referee, I received my first in-game positive shout from a club manager today!

I was to spend the day in Rainworth for two games for the Rangers at U13 and U16. I hadn't actually heard from the U16 side so hoped by just turning up, I was still able to take the game following the U13 match and that by them not having contacted me meant they had found themselves a replacement. As it happened upon arriving at the ground I learned that the U16 side had folded so I was left with just the single game. I spoke to the referee secretary at half time to see if there was any chance of an afternoon game but the only option was being a linesman at a game quite far away and I didn't fancy travelling all that way to spend almost 2 hours earning just a tenner. The experience would have been useful though.

Making do with the one game, it was a league game between Rainworth Tigers and Drezden Colts, both sides I knew well from my experience as a manager at this age group. I assumed it would bea bit of a whitewash as Rainworth Tigers were quite a strong side from memory, with experience in the top flight, whilst Drezden had fell upon bad times recently, losing a lot of players and spending the past season or two down near the foot of division 3.

As it went though, it was a very close game, both sides creating many chances early on and it stayed tight for the majority of the game. At the start I was informed that one of the Rainworth players suffered from Tourettes syndrome so I shouldn't reprimand him for foul language. As the players were warming up I sought out the player by the number I was given so that I knew who to ignore, but typically I got the wrong one so had stern words with the first player who told me where to go in less friendlier terms! I quickly realised that this was the young player I now had to turn a blind eye too.

Rainworth took the lead in the first half, about 10 minutes in but Drezden were playing well and battled back to equalise. On 2 or 3 occasions, when the away side broke the flag was quite quick to go up even if it looked quite close so I made sure I was keeping up with play to check that the decisions being made were accurate, especially as the Drezden manager was becoming more and more frustrated with the close calls. I'm usually quite good for spotting the linesman as if a ball is played where there is any suspicion of offside, I'll look straight across at him but at one point in the first half, not long after Rainworth had gone 2-1 up, a scramble in the box from a corner led to Drezden equalising again but I was being informed that the flag was up. I went across to speak to the linesman who couldn't quite explain why he had flagged, he just said someone was offside. I questioned which player was offside, if they had played the ball or interfered in any way but the response was quite muted so I didn't hesitate to award the goal.

Again in the second half, the flag popped up on every possible occasion so when it looked dubious I overuled it, much to the delight of the Drezden manager who made a very vocal point of praising me for it. It was great for the confidence as referee's get so much stick so it was finally nice to have some very positive feedback. I had felt that I had got it right and by displaying that I wasn't going to just acknowledge the assistant every time he raised his flag, it seamed to do the trick as it only now went up when there was a clear call to be made.

The rest of the game then went smoothly, Rainworth eventually running out 5-3 victors but Drezden can take a great deal of heart from the performance and I myself was delighted with my own game. After the game a number of spectators from both sides also thanked me for a good game so I took a lot of heart from today.

Linney

One of my first games this season refereeing for my Sunday side Hucknall Rangers, was a pre-season game against a newly formed side Linney Group from Mansfield. It was a good chance to see what the opposition would be like as Hucknall would be facing them twice at least in the forthcoming campaign in the league. Hucknall came out of the game having little to fear, winning 3-2 - albeit comfortably and it probably could have been more but for some wasteful finishing. Hucknall's side on that day consisted of very few first team players as they tend to only come out during the actual season so have an extended break whilst the friendlies are being played.

Linney group had began the season struggling. Their side is mainly made up of either ageing, overweight or injured players, who have an obvious love for the game but are well out of their depths at this level. They were getting stuffed left, right and centre, often by double figures and there was little to debate that Hucknall wouldn't do the same to them again today, especially after the very positive start Hucknall had made. That being said, no team should be taken lightly and this was the mistake the Hucknall manager made going into this game. It was as if this game was a given and 3 points were as good as won, whilst the goal difference would be severely boosted.

As it went, Linney had a better start at least than most could imagine. I played my part in infuriating the Hucknall lads at the start by not bringing back 2 or 3 early foul throws as I didn't want to spoil the continued flow of the game. A couple of them were borderline anyway so may not have been given by other refs whilst at least one was quite blatantly a foul throw, which was appealed against but as Hucknall won the ball from it I allowed play to continue.

Hucknall were playing poorly and this resulted in Linney taking a surprise 1-0 lead and shortly after were 2-0 up. The flag did go up at one point when the ball was played through for the second goal but it wasn't clear who was being given offside as one lad had made a run from his own half and the clearer offside player had stopped. I had to speak to the linesman before giving the goal, who hadn't dropped his flag but he pointed out it was the player who stopped who he was giving offside against and that the goal should stand. The Hucknall lads were enraged at this decision, albeit the right one, but also were directing a lot of their furore at me for not pulling them up sooner for the bad throws. I made sure I pulled them up the next time which I didn't have to wait long for. Hucknall then began to throw everything at their opponents to get back into the game but at the same time, appealed against anything and everything.

From a corner, Linney cleared the box but Hucknall centre back Lee Weir met the ball with a stinging half volley that was blocked just a few yards in front of him by a Linney defender and claims of handball were voiced. I had a clear view and knew it hadn't struck the hand but even if so, the player was too close to there the ball was struck from he'd've not been able to get hands out of the way had it hit him, unless they were in an unnatural position, ie, above shoulder height etc. I turned the appeal down much to the home sides disgust.

A second appeal was turned down a few minutes later when close friend of mine Chris Taylor had burst into the box and was running along the byline before attempting to play the ball back into the box for a teammate, but his last touch before the cross meant he was having to stretch to reach the ball and it was cleared before he could quite make it. This led to an air-shot which meant he fell sidewards, which made the majority of the Hucknall players and coaches claim for a penalty and look even more disgusted than the first time when I rejected their appeals. It was evident they were after whatever they could get and were desperate with losing to such a poor side but as well as having clearly seen no offense, it was the easiest decision I've had to make due to the fact there was no appeal from the player himself, who I've known for over 20 years and had there been even a 1% chance of a penalty, he would have been the first one I would've heard! I've rejected clear penalties against him before and been reminded of them for months after so I know had this one been a decision to be made he would have been the first to tell me.

Hucknall did get one back before half time and halfway through the second half, their relentless pressure eventually led to the equaliser. This gave them a lot of confidence and the run of the game did look as though there was only going to be one winner from here. However, Hucknall became over confident and started to lose shape with every player from the front to the back pushing forward in search of the next goal. With all the space in behind the Hucknall defence due to them pressing, Linney could afford to play on the counter and long ball later, led to their striker being put clean through. The big Hucknall keeper started to come out and I was myself surprised to see the striker hit it from about 25 yards out when he could've got a lot closer to goal. It wasn't a great strike, with very little behind it but it found it's way past the keeper to out Linney 3-2 up with about 15 minutes to go.

Everything now was being hit into the Linney box from every angle but little was being made of them and it looked like they were going to remain frustarted throughout. A corner in the final minute had been headed towards the line but scrambled clear, and of course, this was followed by appeals of a goal but it hadn't crossed the line. I was being berated from every angle now, even people I'd class as close friends were now on my back but I don't know what I was being expected to do, I couldn't simply give them a free goal because this was my team. A second corner followed as we entered injury time and this time it was headed over the line, only just as the keeper got across to scoop it out from the goal but this time the goal was awarded and almost from the kick off I blew for full time.

Their was disgust and disappointment throughout, both from Linney for not having held out for their first win, instead this was their first draw, but Hucknall were fuming they had dropped points against such mediocre opposition. I bore the brunt of their anger, with me clearly being made the scapegoat for the result. The management couldn't even look at me after the game, which was gutting as these were 2 lads I had been very close to for the past couple of years. I could feel my time being part of this club wearing thin, I even began doubting my own performance.

After the game I took a lot of time reflecting on it as I didn't want it to be something that held me back in the future. I didn't want it to stop me refereeing in the future as at this point I had started thinking of taking it as far as I could but the only mistakes I felt I made were not pulling back the foul throws at the start of the game. In the end, I didn't let it affect my mind and when I look back at this game I'll use it as evidence that in this game you certainly can't please anyone, not even those closest to you. I won't set out to do so in the future, not that I had in this and I'll never hold myself responsible for the result of any game. The players and the managers need to look a lot closer at themselves before wagging fingers my way again.

Formality?

Just the one game today at local side Welbeck Welfare in neighbouring village Warsop for an U14 division 2 game against Skegby Colts. One of the good things about getting into refereeing in the local leagues is when you get to take charge of teams for managers or with players that you know, and the Welbeck manager of this age group was a guy I knew well from my time with the club, so it was good to chat with him prior to the game. He informed me that this was probably going to be a tough game as both sides were battling it out at the right end of the table, but he was confident he was going to 'edge it'.

As it turned out, Welbeck ran out 11-2 winners despite conceding an early goal to their opponents. It was a great game that left me with very little to do other than keep count! Welbeck clearly had a very talented side and I was pleased at the end to be asked for my man of the match. I awarded it to the obvious choice, which was the managers son and team captain, who had scored about 5 of the goals and had had a big hand in most of the others, leading by example.

I should have followed this game with an U17 game for Welbeck against Sherwood United at Clipstone but earlier in the week I was asked if I'd prefer a different game but was never actually given one!

Cup Weekend

A busy day today as I ended up with 3 matches, and it could have been 4 if I was able to fit in Claypole Warriors v Glapwell Gladiators in the U13 cup, but both the distance and the lack of time in between the matches I could take ensured I had to make do with 3!

When I'm down for multiple games I pray that at least 1 of them is mini soccer, which doesn't involve a great deal of running so I can save energy for the other games but all 3 games were 11 aside so I had to ensure I was well prepared going into them. I made sure I was up in time for a good breakfast, which I don't usually have but with me doing the 3 games almost back to back, I wouldn't be able to catch a bite before at least 4pm, so breakfast today was vital.

The first game was easy enough, an U14 tie between Shirebrook Rangers and Ashfield Rangers. Ashfield looked like a team that typically struggled in the best of circumstances so today was made extra difficult for them that their first choice keeper was unavailable so a regular outfield player had to take the gloves. They were limited to just the 11 players also so no subs were available.

Shirebrook attacked right from the off and were quickly in the lead. Dominating possession and not giving Ashfield a sniff, they were 4-0 up at half time and although conceding a couple late on, they went on to win comfortably 7-2. The match itself was incident free and easy enough to officiate but their was an incident on the touchline when an off the ball incident occurred and officials from both sides got involved. It stemmed from a young Shirebrook coach swearing to himself at the challenge before being confronted by the Ashfield official who was running the line, and was also a police officer unhappy at the young coaches language. There was a slight scuffle and I had to intervene so it was no more than handbags but not exactly what you want at a kids football match.

After the game this threatend to boil over as the young Shirebrook representative had made contact with his dad who was a coach of one of the older Shirebrook teams and he'd made every effort to get to the ground quickly to 'sort him out' but thankfully the Ashfield side had left.

The next game at the same ground was Shirebrook Rangers U11 against Blidworth Welfare, again in the cup. This time the home side became unstuck against a decent Blidworth side and again the match went quickly with out any problems. The visiting side took the plaudits 3-1, and this was one of the easiest games I've had to take charge of so far.

Then it was off to a familiar ground in Debdale Lane at Mansfield Woodhouse. The match was Manor 4th U15 against Market Warsop U15 in the league. This was also the first time I'd taken charge of a Market Warsop side of any age since leaving them at the start of the season, and in charge of this side was the club chairman Keith who clearly thought I might bare a grudge as he made sure to warn me of any bias against his side! I'm not one to hold any negative feelings against any club or person though despite having been sort of forced out of the club after trying to take their current U13 side to rivals Welbeck (back to where they actually started and for the reasons of improving the mindset of the players who'd had 2 very difficult seasons at Market Warsop).

The game looked evenly balanced, perhaps with Market Warsop shaving it in the opening half. The main focus was a very well contested battle between 2 midfield giants, 1 from each side who were very competitive, especially with each other. It surprised me really as they were both fairly big lads but seamed to have no problem getting about the pitch, in fact they were both very skilfull and posed one of the biggest attacking threats of their respective sides.

Warsop opened the scoring and shortly followed it up with a couple more where they then began to control the game. The battle between the 2 giants intensified and at times did go a little too far as the quest to overpower the other heated up and I had to make sure I stayed on top of what was a foul and what was ok. I had no hesitation pulling either one up for rough play, especially when they went into tackles with much smaller opposition but gradually the Manor 'general' started to feel that he was missing out on more than he should have had.

In the end, Warsop ran out 7-1 winners as their opponents tired and following the game I was met with a little tirade from the female Manor manager(ess?) about how the bigger Warsop lad was a bully but from my point of view I think her own tough tackler had dished out as much as they'd received.

Pull yer socks up!

After a few weeks of travelling the county and beyond, thankfully the two games today were right on the doorstep. The first being on the Carrs playing fields in Warsop for an U16 game between Warsop Plough and Walesby, before heading up to the Elkesley Road pitch literally a few hundred yards from my own doorstep to do Welbeck's U15's against Southwell United.

Both games ran smoothly, with plenty of goalmouth action. In the first game Warsop started the strongest but somehow found themselves 2-0 down midway through the first half. They pulled one back before half time before levelling shortly after. It then looked as though they were going to run away with it but then Walesby regained the lead. However, Warsop's quality eventually shone through and they won the game late on 4-3.

A couple of key points in this game was that firstly, I turned down 2 handball appeals against Walesby, which they felt heavily aggreived about. The first one I didn't spot as there were a number of bodies in the way but then shortly after, from a cross on the left hand side, it hit an arm that was a little outstretched and my first reaction was that it was ball to hand as the defender was only a matter of yards from where the cross was delivered but thinking back, they've been given for less and due to the slightly unorthodox positioning of the hand, a penalty was probably the right decision.

Secondly, I was very close to booking a Walesby midfielder for not covering his shinpads properly with his socks. I felt as though I was being a little pinickety on the player but one of the many things I learned on the referee's course was that it was crucial shinpads are covered as they can cause injury to others if they become damaged in a tackle. I first told the player to cover his shinpads by pulling up his socks but a couple of minutes later they were down again. I then told him to put some tape on them so he left the pitch to do so but returned without my instruction and without the tape - probably booking in itself, so I firmly warned him that unless he found some tape to cover his pads then he would be booked. I didn't need to speak to him again after this.

The second game again saw the away side take the lead, on this occasion Southwell United, before Welbeck raced to a 4-1 lead. Southwell pulled one back late on but they were well and truely beat in a game of very little incident.

Funnily enough following this game I received a call from the referee secretary informing me of changes to forthcoming weekends, when he said that I'd had a good game today as apparently I was being observed in one of the matches. I didn't know which but got it out of him that it was in the latter at Welbeck. I was given just one peice of advice from him that he'd been told, and that was for me to pull my socks up!! I had worn a pair that had no elastic so one kept slipping low down - I don't know why only one, I must have one leg much thinner than the other, but considering events from the first game of the day, I thought this was highly amusing!!

Fair play

With no game on the Sunday for Hucknall as they were away, I was asked to take the Headstocks in their away game against La Torque, as their opponents were struggling to find a ref of their own.

My experience of both sides had me down for a clear away win as Headstocks were capable of scoring for fun whilst La Torque had struggled against my old side AFC Hucknall Reserves, who putting it bluntly were a very poor side.

Headstocks came out the blocks quickest, taking the lead just 7 minutes in and 30 minutes into the half doubled their lead. They were threatening to run riot but were hit by a couple of injuries at the back leading to changes involving players having to fill in in unfamiliar positions. This gave the home side a little hope and they hit back straight away with a goal and so the half time score was 2-1 to Headstocks with it all to play for.

The opening 45 minutes had gone well with little to dispute and I had hoped that the second half could go just as well. The only moment of interest was very early on when a Headstocks player leaped high to win the ball in the air but I had felt that he'd gained an advantage by jumping onto and above an opponent so blew for the foul which was met by disappoinment and it felt clear that I had made the wrong call and in fact the player had actually done very well to get up so high to win the ball and he hadn't prevented the La Torque player battling for it himself, he'd just chose not to. Often, especially in the heat of the moment I guess it is down to the opinion of each official as to what is declared a foul. I think some would have given the same decision as me whilst others would have acknowledged it to be a great leap. I suppose that will only come from experience. The jumping player then had a bit of a shout my way and I reached into my pocket for my book but even the La Torque players fought his corner saying it wasn't worthy of a card as it was so early in the game, was his first offense and that he was only expressing his disappointment at the decision. I replied by saying I wasn;t going to book him but was reaching into my pocket to warn that I wasn't there to be shouted at - of course I had intended to caution him but felt this explanation told the tale better!

The second half started well too, Headstocks regaining their 2 goal cushion on the hour before they showed clear signs of fatigue, so when La Torque pulled one back 5 minutes later and then equalised a further 5 minutes after, it looked as though the game was anybody's. The contest was now a battle of wills, there were few chances and plenty of individual errors with neither side taking the game by the scruff of it's neck. With just 5 minutes to go, La Torque forced a chance in the box and put themselves ahead for the first time in the game. A couple of minutes later and a long ball sent them away again and as I made every effort to catch up with play, I heard the whack of boots as a Headstocks defender ran across the back of the breaking player and he went crashing to the ground. I thought it was the clearest penalty decision I've had to give for some time but when I pointed to the spot the Headstocks defender was furious at the decision, much to my confusion. The La Torque striker then got up and insisted their was no infringement, he'd simply caught his own boots. It was an act of very good sportsmanship but it didn;t stop me getting a bit of greif for calling for the foul in the first place, I just wished those giving me some stick could have seen the incident from my viewpoint! In the end, I knocked the ball back to the keeper and told him to restart with a goalkick. The game was brought to a close a few minutes later and La Torque had earned a 4-3 win, which at the start of the game would've surprised me but they probably did edge it over the 90 minutes.

Tough game

My game today was difficult for a number of reasons, not more so than these teams were rivals and knew each other well, which wasn't a good thing as there appeared to be some history there. Also, I'm used to Skegby playing in Red, but they were in a very bright orange and Blackwell wore red and white. It was a very cold, blustery day and it took me a few minutes to even take the plunge and leave my well-heated car and warm up.

Skegby won the toss and chose to go with the wind, always a good move to get the advantage and that proved to be the case as they stormed into a 2-0 lead. They were very muchly ruled out a potential third as I took up an inexperienced position behind everyone from a corner. As the cross came in, it was cleared before being returned developing a situation where a Skegby striker was running the opposite way to the goal to collect the ball with the Blackwell keeper in hot pursuit. The keeper slid for the ball and from the poor position I was in, looked as though he'd got a full foot to the ball knocking it safe, so when the Skegby striker crashed to the ground, most of the people surrounding the pitch were up in arms when a penalty was not awarded. It became clear that the Skegby player was the one who had played the ball but I felt I couldn't reverse my decision.

At half time, a representative of Blackwell who was running the line had told me on his way past that it was a penalty and I must've been the only one in that postcode not to have seen it! The Skegby manager also asked why it wasn't given. I answered as honestly as I could saying that I'd probably taken up a poor position and so from where I was it looked as though the keeper had played the ball but I now know it was a wrong call. Very gratiuously he accepted that and said not to worry - easy to say when you're 2-0 up! I was wondering what would happen now should Blackwell, who now had the wind in their favour, come back and take the game themselves. The penalty decision would prove very costly in this scenario.

It looked like it would head that way too when only a few minutes into the first half, Blackwell pulled one back and now had the wind and the run of the game in their favour. Skegby still posed a threat against the wind, which Blackwell didn;t really do in the first half. It was still a worry though if the score was levelled, but then an incident occurred that made that eventuality unlikely. A Blackwell striker was fouled outside the box but he reacted by kicking out at the player making the tackle. He was soon surrounded by Skegby players and he squared up to one of them who pushed him, followed up by a batch of pushing and shoving by players on both sides. I eventually got the situation under control and called across the Blackwell striker and a Skegby player. I was also on the hunt for a second Skegby player who was heavily involved but I couldn't see him at this point. I cautioned the Skegby player for a push and told him in this situation he needed to keep his cool. I was then left with no choice but to send the Blackwell forward off for the kick and his reaction, much to his surprise.

With this, Blackwell were now on the back foot with trailing the game and down to ten men. Skegby made it 3-1 near the end of the game and the penalty decision was forgotten! The full time whistle went and there weren't any complaints at the end from either side so I felt quite pleased that I'd had a decent game.