False Labour!

I had to wait a fortnight for my second game of 2011-12, where I was appointed as assistant on the Central Midlands fixture between Yorkshire Main and Westella & Willerby. Pete Craggs was the official and James Robinson on the opposite line.

At this point I hadn't closed my dates or withdrawn from Central Midlands football, although having said that I was still happy to pick up midweek games anyway. I still didn't feel like the season had got underway yet so was still in pre-season mode but this was a league fixture and in fact both sides had already got a number of games under their belt.

Again, the preperations didn't go quite to plan as it was arranged for Pete to pick me up at about 5:30 but I got held up at work and didn't leave until 5:25. My phone battery had also died so it was a case of rushing home as quickly as possible to Pete who was already there waiting for me. Next problem - I didn't have a house key and the door was locked, with no signs of Amelia! I guessed she might be at my sisters who had just had my little neice so Pete wisked me there quickly to pick up the key, and then took me back home for me to get my bag.

We got to the ground in good time though and took in the preparations. I guess with how unprepared for the new season I was, both physically, mentally and kit wise, it was fortunate to have started with 2 games as assistant. I needed to get on the ball quickly though as pretty soon the season will be in full flow.

I was the senior assistant today so given the delights of the dugouts, though despite them being a little vocal, it wasn't too bad.

Pete felt that he'd had a poor game overall as he did have many people on his back throughout the game, but I believe he had done well. The game had finished 5-1 to Yorkshire Main after the visitors had gone 1-0 up before running out of steam.

More fun and games were to be had though as I got passed a message on that Amelia had gone into labour! So after the game it was skip the drinks and get home asap! Thankfully though despite her being in great amounts of pain and it appears had been pretty much since I'd left that evening, it was only false labour! Any time now though!!

Stand up tall!

My CML appointment this week came late as I replaced another official a week or two prior to this game. I was told to leave my Church Warsop scarf at home! - a play on the fact that I'm from the next village, when typically you travel some distance for games, albeit this one was in Dronfield anyway, some 20 miles away.

I was to be junior official to Neil Howard, with Peter Bailey on the opposite line. I'd not met Peter before but had seen Neil 3 or 4 times at The Swan on a Saturday afternoon so it was good to put a name to a face.

This one got off to an interesting start as a number of Church Warsop players travelling together had an accident and so couldn't make it to the ground, leaving CWFC with just 8 available players. They came to see what they could do and were informed that they had to play as the minimum to start with was 8. They tried to make an emergency signing to get the manager available but the deadline had passed, though they found out that the assistant was registered so that gave them 9. They also managed to contact an U18 player who lived close by who set off and arrived after 30 minutes.

That left Dronfield with half an hour with a 2 man advantage, over a team that were already 3 places off the bottom, whilst the home side are fighting for the title. Still, despite much Dronfield pressure, they couldn't find a way through. They had few shots at goal and were made to work hard against the 9 men camped in their own box. The story was the same when the CWFC 10th man arrived and joined his teammates on the pitch.

The possession stats must've been high in Dronfield's favour yet they were hardly troubling the away goalkeeper. As the minutes ticked by, Dronfield were left frustrated as they just couldn't find their way past to get any clear shots on target and could even have lost it towards the end as the lone Church Warsop striker had a few chances running at the last defender but was only able to try from distance, never coming close.

Eventually the whistle sounded for a very surprising 0-0 result, which I later read was the first time I had officiated in a game that had ended 0-0 in all of my 156 matches to date.

I had relatively little to do in both halves, even though most of the action in the second half was in front of me. I made sure I signalled correctly and was always in line with the second last defender etc. I received a good piece of advice at half time when the referee's missus, who was also a referee and an assessor said for me to stand up tall when looking along the line as I have a tendancy to lean forward to look closer at any action that looks like it may be close - offside, fouls etc.

These words rang in my ears in the second half and it registered with me how often in a game I do lean forward and so each time I did I stood up straight and I'm sure that from now on I will take notice of these words which will surely help me in my quest to take my refereeing further.

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.