3 Games = Knackered!!

I was initially down for a couple of games in Glapwell this weekend but heard at the start of the week due to changes in fixtures after the recent bad weather, that I would now be doing two games back to back locally for Market Warsop, both at under 15's as they have 2 sides. A couple of days later I was asked if I could also take Welbeck under 17's after this, which for some reason I accepted. Don't get me wrong, I really need the money as the wedding gets closer but the under 15's games were 40 minutes each half, so the 3 matches would total 250 minutes of football - over 4 hours!! I did let Welbeck know that I may arrive later than their initial 1:30pm kick off as the second match wouldn't finish until about then but they were fine to start with one of the linesman as referee until I get there.

The first match went well - as far as I were concerned. Both sides were familiar as it was the second time I had taken each side. Market Warsop Windmills were a relatively poor side languishing near the foot of division 3 but they had a couple of decent lads, whilst Rolls Royce could play a bit but still weren't taking the bottom tier by storm. Warsop started the brightest and got a few early shots off but Rolls scored with their first chance, an own goal by a Warsop defender and shortly after I had to give a penalty as Rolls' tricky forward knocked the ball past a Warsop defender only for it to catch his hand in full. It was harsh as it was hard to avoid it but it was a penalty. Not many appealed it, before it was taken and scored.

Warsop got back into the game before another own goal on the stroke of half time meant Rolls went in 3-1 up. With the game threatening to stretch beyond Warsop, tempers got a little frayed and a late challenge created a little havoc as players pushed and shoved and I had to book one from each side before the game restarted. Warsop pulled one back in the second half through a penalty for a high foot, but Rolls were too strong and eventually won the game 5-2.

The second game started soon after and again Warsop were the side that started the brightest but were 1-0 down just 2 minutes in. This was also the second time I had taken charge of this Warsop side, the first being a 5-0 win over Manor 4th and I knew they had a very good side, but their opposition, Winthorpe & Coddington were a team full of very good players and soon started to take hold of the game, going 2-0 up midway through the half. Late in the half Warsop pulled one back when their striker went round the keeper and slotted into an empty goal. Embarrasingly I blew for half time after 35 minutes only to be reminded that U15's play 40 minutes each half. Funnily enough, both halves of the previous match were only 35 minutes and had gone totally unnoticed!

The final 5 minutes of the half were played without incident before both sides returned for the second half. Warsop were much better in the second half, creating many chances and levelling through a well taken goal by a very skilfull, young player who saw a lot of the ball and was unlucky to not contribute more to the game, though at times his distribution could have been better. It looked likely that Warsop would go on to win the game but Coddington still had a threat to their play and had really only let Warsop back in as they let their foot off the gas 2-0 up. They did return to the lead with about 15 minutes to go and then spent the remainder of the match timewasting, much to Warsop's disgust. I kept a keen eye on the time and ensured the full allocation was allowed to be played so their efforts were fruitless other than frustrating the opposition. As Warsop pressed for the leveller, their defence got a little sloppy and Coddington were allowed to attack on the counter and with about 5 minutes to go they were in the box when a player tried to swing the ball across the box only to be clattered recklessly by a Warsop defender. He did well to stay on his feet but I called the penalty which sent Warsop irate. They had nothing to complain about though as the tackle was poor. However, the penalty was missed and so they had the rest of the game to find the equaliser but it didn't come.

At the end of the game, the linesman representing Warsop threw his flag at me and had a right go at my performance but some people clearly don't handle losing very well. His tirade continued all the way back to the changing room but I don't really have a clue what more I could have done, plenty of time was added on to counter all of Winthorpe's timewasting and the penalty was missed, though even had it been scored it was a good decision. I'd even taken a shot full in the kidneys in the second half as a shot from distance came straight at me and I could do nothing to avoid it. It wasn't poor positioning on my part, I'm as much a part of the play as the players themselves and they could see where I was stood, it could have been avoided but they probably prefered to have hit me anyway than got a shot on goal!

I managed to get away at 1:45pm, the time I'd managed to talk Welbeck into kicking off to give me time to get there but due to the misjudgement of length of matches at U15, I wasn't going to get there anywhere near on time. In the end I was 15 minutes late but instead of changing the referee at this stage I just took over from one of the unofficial linesman. The game was already 1-0 to Skegby but it looked evident early on that Welbeck were a much better side. They equalised through a clear penalty about 5 minutes after I arrived, though at one point I didn't think the referee was going to give it, and then I had to laugh at his position as the kick was taken, he was about 20 yards outside the box when he blew his whistle!

During the first half, a few things looked odd from the referee's performance and I questioned whether he was actually a qualified official - ha, I'm in my first season and I'm already judging my fellow referee's!!. I had little to do in the first half other than one or two offside decisions. Skegby went 2-1 up before half time though the Welbeck keeper should have done better.

I met the referee in the centre at half time where he mentioned he was a returning referee after a few years out of the game and asked me if I wanted to take over the second half. I left it to him to decide if he wanted to continue, half wanting to take over for the money, but the other half thinking it would be weird for the players to change now and also I was getting a little leggy after the first games.

Whilst the referee's positioning wasn't great, nor some of the decisions he made, the way that he handled the discipline of the players was excellent as he was clearly confident when speaking to them and thought nothing of pulling them to one side for a word. He looked quite a young lad too and so I observed this more in the second half when he spoke to players 5 or 6 times. This is something I feel I greatly need to improve on if I am to progress through the levels as I struggle to find the words clearly in time even if the offence was obvious.

Welbeck dominated the second half and really should have won the game by 4 or 5 goals but they fired a lot of clear chances staright down the keeper's throat, and they were fortunate that I had a good view of an offence in their box early in the second half. Welbeck had already equalised when a Skegby striker latched onto a long ball. He powered towards the box and forced a lunging tackle from a Welbeck defender, however it wasn't late or reckless and the Skegby player had avoided it before going down theatrically. The referee awarded a penaly which the Welbeck players debated and so he came to me for my opinion. I immidiately assured him that it wasn't a penalty and so he reversed the decision and played on from the keeper. This slightly annoyed a Skegby striker who had already been forced to apologise to me after swearing from an offside decision I gave earlier, though he accepted my explanation of the decision pretty quickly.

Welbeck took the lead through a glorius lob from distance with about 15 minutes to go and then created a further 5 or 6 if not more chances that should have been converted, and so like the home fans behind me, you always felt that Skegby were going to nick a late equaliser, but it never came.

It was a good day and I enjoyed a little more experience as a linesman, which I need to ensure I keep doing to enable me to make a positive impression should I ever be observed or assessed. Sometimes I feel I don't have the natural assets to make a good referee where I really want to see how far I can make it but the linesman route may also offer just as many opportunities. We'll see in a few years time!