Ouch!

To start the day off today I had 2 games at Bothamsall, as Walesby Juniors U12 played FC '05 Bilsthorpe, before Walesby's U14 side played Glapwell FC, who I used to know as Skegby Colts when I was a manager in this age group. I was also originally down to do the Walesby U16 game against Lowdham Colts too but there's only so much I can do before heading off for my senior game! I was surprised actually to find myself down for 3 11-aside games this weekend, but released the third game quite early on.

The FC 05 side was the same that I had done last week in the Notts Shield semi final so as that competition usually ends with teams of a high standard, felt that they would probably go on to win quite convincingly. As it were, they were 1-0 down after 28 seconds! Having seen this Walesby side a couple of times this year, they're quite reliant on a quick, talented striker and it was him causing the problems again.

The lead didn't last long though as 2 minutes later Bilsthorpe equalised, and went ahead about 15 minutes after this. Walesby replied shortly before half time to make it 2-2 at the break.

On a personal note, I was struggling this weekend as I knocked my knee playing football last weekend and it hadn't recovered at all over the last 5 or 6 days and was causing me a lot of pain as I ran. I decided not to put myself through it too much, as I was concerned for my afternoon game so felt I could do these 2 games with very little running. I could see most of the action from around the centre of the pitch, especially at these age groups and so I didn't need to be on top of play all the time.

I controlled the game quite well from a slightly central position and was glad when I could blow for full time for this first game. It ended 4-3 to Bilsthorpe in a result which looked as though it had surprised most as it appeared that they had expected a much easier game but Walesby had made them work really hard for all 3 points.

The second game was a little more one sided as Walesby had only brought 9 players and were facing top of the league Glapwell. They defended well to start with and had kept it at 0-0 for about 12 minutes before Glapwell eventually took the lead. They controlled the game from then on and were 6-0 up at half time. They then continued this performance into the second half, coming out 10-0 victors at the end, a little harsh on the home side who had worked hard.

I was ready to finish by the time this game had ended as my knee was really causing me a lot of grief and I was quite concerned that I would not be able to do my afternoon fixture in Dronfield. I did though learn that I am just as capable of refereeing youth games at a distance and don't always need to be on top of play, though this is a habit I don't want to fall out of, especially in my more senior games.

Pure Quality

I shot myself in the foot a little this weekend by not sorting my messages in time. I was down for 2 games today, the first at Mansfield Woodhouse, followed by a game at Arnold, but the times clashed meaning I couldn't do both and by not sorting out in the week, I was left with just the early game at Manor.

Whilst I'm disappointed for both the money and the experience that I lost a game, I'm delighted that the game I managed to take was the cup game between Woodhouse U12's and South Normanton. I arrived bright and early for it and spoke with both managers before getting set for kick off.

I was a little worried how my fitness would hold up for the 60 minute match having not taken a game since the 12th December and other than one 6 a-side match, I'd done very little over these weeks to keep my physique up. Games at the under 12 age group tend to be fairly easy though, despite being on a full size pitch, not a great deal of running is involved.

At the start, it looked as though it was going to be a close game with Woodhouse attacking early and creating a couple of chances early on but it was evident very soon after which way the game was likely to head. Both sides were in the top division but at very different ends with Normanton leading the way with Woodhouse just one place off the bottom, and there were to be no shocks in this game.

Having officiated over 40 games already this season, I've seen some great games, some close, others not so much, but this one has to go down as the greatest performance of any team so far. I've been at games where the result has looked very one-sided, many in double figures, and though this game never looked likely to reach that level, finishing 6-0 to South Normanton, their performance was of absolute top drawer quality.

Every player in every position did everything right. Usually, you see teams - good teams, where a handful of players do the damage and they're surrounded by better than average players who do what is expected of them but not much more. But the entire Normanton team had a big say in this victory, everyone wanted the ball and could do things with it, from the front right to the back. Their football was a pleasure to watch, it was intelligent, with quick touches, fluent movement and clever balls being played across the line and through the middle. Any neutral watching wouldn't've been able to say that the lads on the pitch were only 11 or 12 years old, it was a pleasure to watch.

At the end of the game I spoke to the South Normanton manager and told him that he had one hell of a team and that was the best performance by a team of any age that I had ever seen - hell I'd even go as far to say I'd never watched a game at professional level that measured up to their performance. I hope I get to referee for them again soon.

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!