Busy Weekend! - Saturday

Without a doubt this weekend was by far my most busiest, challenging and tiring so far on many levels as I took charge of 5 games over the 2 days, almost 6 hours of football, and some very tough games indeed.

It started easy enough though with 2 mini soccer games at Manor School. Manor FC U8's beat Teversal FC 2-1 in a close battle, whilst Manor FC Vipers U8's went down by 5 goals to 1 to Shirebrook Rangers. Both games were easy enough as expected.

I then made my way to Borrowash for my afternoon Central Midlands game where I was in the middle for the first time at this level since the beginning of November. I also had the pleasure of being informed just as I arrived at the ground that I was being assessed by Ernie Broughton, so I certainly had to be at my best as I continue in my quest for promotion.

The first thing I had to do on arrival was do a pitch inspection as there had been overnight frost and the ground had been pretty solid. A local referee had checked it earlier in the day and whilst it was unplayable at that time, he didn't want to call the game off if it improved over the day and so left it to me to decide whether it was fit to play on.

It was still quite solid underfoot and you could tell that a couple of inches down that the ground was still frozen but there was a good inch or two on the surface that was soft and the divots were soft so didn't pose a danger to the players so I was happy to allow the game to be played. A member of the away side (Heanor Town) management wasn't happy with the pitch but he was the only one moaning and as the decision was mine, the game was to be played.

My assessor arrived and we spoke about various things, from the pitch, expectations of me, fitness etc and he informed me that the pitch looked good and I was correct to allow the game to go ahead. I prepared for the match, had a breif warm up and then called the two teams out to start the game.

I try not to change my game just because I'm being assessed but I guess I am a little conscious throughout that he is there so I probably sharpen up in some areas. It was a difficult game on a difficult pitch with 2 physical sides and the pitch soon began to cut up and become very boggy in areas and so the tackles came in quick and fast. I had to be on the ball right from the off and cut out any tackles that I believe were reckless, making allowances for the fact that often it is difficult to avoid making contact with the player due to the conditions, but these still had to not pose a danger to the opposition.

There were a number of players sliding in at every opportunity and I judged each one on it's own merit, allowing play to go on if it was fair, playing advantages were possible, or stopping play if they were unfair. On the 16th minute I cautioned the Heanor Town right back after a period where there had been 3 or 4 harsh challenges and so I thought a card was necessary to control the situation. The tackle itself was worthy of a yellow card as the quick Borrowash winger had beaten his man and was heading for the box before being tripped by the offender. He accepted the card and the game swiftly moved on.

I had a worry at the start of the game as this was my first real challenge since the Xmas period that my fitness wasn't at where it should be but I didn't feel too bad out there, even on the heavy ground. I kept up with play well and was always close by when making a decision, whether it be to give a foul or to decide whether the flag from either [club] assistant was correct, as at times they were both quite out of line, not up with play.

At half time, I was happy that the half had gone well, the score was 1-1, which reflected how even the game was at that point, and I then spent half time speaking to the assessor. He said I was doing well and that the caution was spot on, came at the right time and set the tone for what I was happy or unhappy with. He mentioned that I was getting about the pitch well, didn't have any problems with my fitness or speed, and that I was controlling the game well. He gave me a few pointers to work on in the second half. Firstly to improve my signalling as I have a tendancy to not give a clear indication as to which way I have given a decision, and also to be more vocal to assist the signals.

I made every effort to improve this in the second half and so every decision after the interval came with a clear arm signal and a shout as to which way I had given it. This helped to iron out any confusions with close decisions and because I was being clear which way I was indicating, there were less debates against each call.

Borrowash began to get a foothold in the game and took the lead early on, and soon after there was controversy when I overuled the Heanor Town's assistant's flag as he indicated an offside against 2 players on the opposite side of the pitch from him. I was close to both and believed one could have been offside but was adament that the recipient of the ball had come from his own half and he went on to put Borrowash 3-1 up. The linesman didn't take well to this, throwing his flag to the floor and shouting to me. I spoke to him indicating my belief that the player who had the ball wasn't offside as I was in a good position to see this.

This incident, together with the fact Heanor were slipping out of the game took it's toll and Borrowash ran riot, eventually coming out 6-1 winners. I was still happy with my performance despite the controversy and pleased that I only needed the one caution to help control the game.

The assessor met me after the game and we discussed a number of things. He actually said that the assistant was correct and that I was wrong to overule him on this occasion, but seemed to understand why I did as he was very rarely level with play and so I had to use my own judgement on most of his decisions. I did go with him on most occasions but the one that I had chosen to ignore him looked to have had an impact.

Following the assistants frustration, he was even further from play for the remainder of the game and the assesor informed me that 2 more of the goals late on were offside but neither I nor the assistant was in a position to make the call, which was a little disappointing.

Overall, I was still pleased with my performance. I felt I controlled the game well, which was difficult due to the conditions and the 2 competitive sides. My fitness was fine, my signals were good, especially in the second half and I played some good advantages. However, due to the fact that I chose to ignore the assistant when he was in fact correct, and this led to 2 further mistakes with offside calls, I am not expecting the greatest of assessment reports or scores. I'll take it all in my stride though, learn from it and hope that it continues to improve my game.

Big cup game

I was originally down for an easy under 11's tie in Southwell before heading to Sutton for a big cup game at Sutton Town's old ground. This would be my first fairly big game at a decent ground, stands and everything! The Under 11's game didn't go ahead for some reason or another but I got a call out of the blue to take their under 8's against Rainworth Rangers.

Working out the journey from Southwell to Sutton was key as I had less than 45 minutes to get there and prepared and I wasn't familiar with the route but hoped I would be ok.

There was an annoying wait for the opposition to turn up though and as time ticked away, I worried that I would now be late for my second game, but just as the deadline time I had set approached, Rainworth turned up. Despite being quite late, they still insisted in having a good 15 minutes to prepare first, which made it even more unlikely that I would get to Sutton on time. I insisted that half time be cut short and the game commenced. Whilst remaining fully neutral in every game, often subconsciously you select a team that you route for more than the other - although ensuring all decisions are fair - but it's nice when the team you have developed a soft spot for get the win. There are many reasons why you would route for one over the other, such as one being the underdog, or if one set of managers are particularly annoying or rude you hope they get their come-uppance. On this occasion, due to Rainworth's lateness and abruptness in demanding time at the start, I'd hoped Southwell would put one over them!

I didn't have to wait long for them to be down as Southwell appeared much stronger than Rainworth and comfortably led 6-0 at the break. Still, despite my concern for the time both teams had the full half time allowance so my worries increased further. Southwell made it 7 shortly after the break and I began to look out for a white towel being thrown onto the pitch! Despite me hoping for a Southwell win, at the end of the day these were still just 7 or 8 year old lads and didn't deserve to be at the back end of a big defeat but they pressed and near the end of the game managed to pull one back much to the delight at both sets of supporters.

When the game drew to a close, I quickly picked up my earnings and set off for Sutton. Arriving at the ground pretty much at the kick off time I was quite delighted to hear that the home side were awaiting a player and hoped for a bit of time to wait for him. This gave me time to get ready, speak to the captains and get the toss sorted ready for kick off when the player arrived.

As it turned out, we waited about 20 minutes and he'd still not arrived so I insisted we get started. Drezden, the home side took to the pitch with just 10 players but had heard that their key man was on his way. They had to play on the counter with a man down but took the lead half way through the half, literally minutes before their man arrived.

Being a new official there will be plenty of occasions where I am unsure what the rules officially allow and this was one of those times. Drezden having played the majority of the first half with ten men now had a new player arrive, was he allowed to come straight on or was he only able to be a sub? Anyhow, both managers accepted that he was to come and be the 11th man so he took his position for the remainder of the first half.

Having taken the lead with ten men, I expected Drezden to take control now they were at full strength, especially as they'd made a point of saying the missing man was on his way back from a representative match, so was obviously of good standard, but it was Robin Hood who took the initiative in the second half and not only were they level soon enough, they took the lead about half way through the half.

Both sides created chances and it was another easy game for me to officiate with little incident. Despite plenty of Drezden pressure late on, including a cross that the wind caught hold of and floated it over the keeper and along the goal line, Robin Hood managed to hold on for the win.

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.