Treble under the Spire

The Mansfield Youth League season got underway on Saturday 10th September in the sun and I was down for a trio of games in the morning in Chesterfield. Thankfully they included 2 mini soccer games as I was following these matches up with a senior match at Retford in the afternoon, so wanted to have at least some legs left for this!

The games were (scores in brackets):

U10 - Chesterfield Town Whites v Glapwell Gladiators (8-0)
U10 - Chesterfield Town Juniors v Manor FC Red (7-0)
U11 - Chesterfield Town Whites v Teversal FC (3-4)

The games were far from difficult, as you would hope at this level and I enjoyed all 3. No complaints from all 6 managers and despite plenty of goalmouth action, not a great deal of anything of note that will make these games particularly memorable in years to come.

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.

Bad day at the office

When taking my referee assessment last summer, we were encouraged / led to believe / brainwashed(!) that referee's are always right! We're not there to please others and no matter how we approach a game and no matter how we perform, we're never going to please everyone. So don't try! Often I go into games and hope I can banter with players and managers, and whilst it may look like it works at the start of a game, make one decision they don't like and you'll soon lose them!

So, whenever someone isn't happy at a decision or my performance in a game, I always tell myself that every decision is right and that every game has gone well. If a player or manager isn't happy with me, it's usually a case of them not having performed well as a team so I don't take it personally, I'm happy to take the flack if it makes them feel better to direct it at me. I'm old enough and ugly enough to not let it bother me.

But today, I do have to hold my hand up and say I probably had a bad couple of games. It will happen and the sooner I recover from it the better. No point dwelling on it, I can't change anything now and in fairness, despite me not being at my best, I don't think it's had a great difference to either game.

I started with a familiar venue, Meden School Fields, where I spent so much of my early youth and had already visited 3 times this season to take Peggy's (Gary Edwards') Welbeck Welfare U14's against Teversal U14. I was looking forward to this one as the other 3 games for Welbeck had seen a shedload of goals and I assumed this would be no different. I hadn't anticipated that there were other teams in this division that were capable of matching them, and today they were facing one of them.

At this point, I have to thank Gary for having no problem swapping his kick off to 10am from 10:30, which allowed me to honour my 12pm kick off at Arnold Town, otherwise I would be down to one game for the second week running.

The game was a tight affair with both sides cancelling each other out and chances were few and far between. Welbeck thought they'd broke the deadlock late in the first half when their strikers combined to work around the Teversal defence but the final ball played one of them offside, though the flag went up late and he had put the ball in the net before I could bring it back.

The same 2 combined in the second half to put them 1-0 up and it was a deserved lead after working hard to break down the resilient Teversal defence, but this Welbeck side though contains a lot of attacking talent, they lack something considerably at the back, and within 2 minutes of taking the lead, they were pegged level again.

Either side had chances to win it and it took a moment of controversy to do so. The Teversal linesman had become a little flag-happy as the game drew to a close, itching to put his flag up for any close offside and ruling every throw in in their favour so I was having to be at my sharpish to ensure the decisions he was making were correct. With 2 minutes to go, a Welbeck midfielder picked the ball up in acres of space and brought it forward. As he reached the half way line, the quick Welbeck striker was waiting on a throughball that would set him away, although he was marked closely by 2 defenders, he would have no problem outpacing them on the way to goal. The pass didn;t come right away though so he was having to check his run and I too was keeping a close eye on his position. When the ball did come, the striker was level with both defenders but the flag went straight up. I overuled it and let play continue and so when the ball was put in the net, their was great furore as the linesman and the Teversal players remenstrated with me. I cleared up why I had let play continue and although they weren't happy, they had to accept my decision.

Two minutes later and I sounded the whistle for full time. I knew I hadn't had a great game as there were some tough tackles that I let go when maybe I should have acted stronger, and I booked a Teversal player for challenging the keeper although the ball was there to be won. I believe he was a little reckless as he stretched for the ball and caught the keeper but I was probably a little harsh cautioning him for what was his first offence and felt I probably did so to make a point to his teammates that were pushing for a yellow with some slightly aggresive play.

At the end of the match the Teversal manager enquired about the goal but before he could get out what he wanted to say, I ran through my sequence of the events with the final goal and he seamed to accept it, shook my hand and left. If only everyone was the same though as the young lad that I'd booked, his mum came to rant at me for a while after but I was having none of it and left her to it after hearing what she had to say.

The second game was at Arnold Town for what was a cup game - though I wasn;t aware of that until after as I was originally down for a league game between Arnold Town Blue and Market Warsop, but they ended up playing Selston in a re-arranged cup game and I was not made aware of this. It didnt matter though as Selston ran out 6-1 winners and once more I felt that I hadn't had the greatest of games.

I'd spent the few days prior to today recovering from a throat infection and had had a couple of days off work under strong medication so maybe this had had an adverse affect on my performance. As I mentioned above, it's not something I believe will be a regular occurence so I won't dwell on it, I believe it's my first off day of the season even if other teams may disagree.

It started well enough with Arnold actrually taking the lead through a sliced clearance by a Selston defender that looped over his own keeper, and 2 minutes later I awarded the most clear penalty I'll ever get to give as a striker holding the ball up in the box had his legs swept from under him. There weren't any protests against the penalty and it was that clear there weren't even any appeals for it.

The game ran well and fair but I failed to call a few decisions for both sides, mainly when a couple of players challenge for an aerial ball, there were a few pushes in the back that others would probably have given. The way I see this though is if both go up together, with eyes only for the ball, there is bound to be contact as bodies clash together in the air but I need to spot more whether either of them go in too harshly, sometimes at an angle, with an arm or knee raised so when their is an aerial collision, it may be unfair.

Selston had started to run away with the game, putting the result to bed quickly in the second half, but there were still a few protests I let go. I called what I did see so maybe I am being a little harsh on myself as there will always be protests, there just seemed to be a little more than usual in this game. Neither manager was critical of me though and even when they themselves protested, they never followed it up with anything more than just a quick ask for a decision.

There were a few odd ones early on all by the same player. 3 backpass shouts all against him in a matter of minutes but none were actually backpasses. The first went relatively unnoticed as the ball dropped out the air. The defender and striker went up together for a header but both missed it and it fell onto the defenders toe which sent it into the arms of his own keeper. A Selston striker had a look at me as if I had to call it but I just shook my head. 2 minutes later and the same defender put a tackle in on a Selston winger, stretching for the ball and catching it full but again sending it back to his keeper who picked it up. This time there were 2 or 3 shouts for it but he hadn' purposely sent the ball to the keeper, he was making a tackle. The third did make me consider calling it though as he tried to cut out a thrown in by swinging his foot at it. It was more of a clearance than a pass but once again it went to the keeper who collected it in his arms, to which this time the Selston manager asked me to give it, especially as I was considering it myself and had out the whistle to my mouth, but as I gave myself a couple of seconds to reflect, I opted not to give it, to which the Selston manager asked me to 'blow if I was going to blow'. To this I just said that I'd thought about it but it wasn;t a clear backpass and this came with a great level of acceptance all round and was soon forgotten.

Halfway through the second half and I had begun to tire a little after a lack of action in recent weeks and was irratated by a lose stone in my boot so my focus wasn't fully on the game and again I let a couple of decisions slide that I may usually have called. I also felt that my positioning wasn't great near the end as I tired and I got caught up a little in the way. Firstly I blocked a short corner as I tried to move out the way to provide an angle for a pass not realising that there already was one and I was actually shortening it, rather than creating one. Then a sliced clearance was sent my way which I managed at the last second to hurdle opnly to turn around and have it returned straight back at me! There was no avoiding it this time and through a lack of thought and embarressment of being struck, I nearly retaliated by sending the ball in the way that it would've gone had I not been in the way but at the last minute stopped myself!

Whilst I felt I was missing a little in the game, nothing was very clear or heavily contested and with the score running clearly in Selston's favour it didn't have any adverse affect on the game but then at one point I denied Selston a clear penalty. It came right after failing to stop the play when an Arnold player was bracing for a header and was clattered into from behind, though at first it looked like he'd gone down a little softly but as the ball ran clear, I knew I should've brought it back. Only seconds later from this, the Selston striker had forced his way into the box and had the full attention of an Arnold defender on his back and he went down under a lean but knowing if I gave this then Arnold wouldn't be happy at the build up that I'd not given, so I just waved him up and said he'd gone down a little easily himself.

I was glad when the game was over so I could get some rest for the day and reflect on what I need to improve on in future, which includes pre-match preperation as I'd had no breakfast breforehand and so my energy levels weren't up to scratch. Nevertheless, whilst feeling that I wasn't at the top of my game I'd enjoyed both matches and not come under any heavy criticism other than the contenscious goal in the earlier match.

The last note of the day has to go to Selston's number 7 who, whilst the focus of most referee's actions has to go towards the disciplining of players, it's nice to be able to praise the actions of one. The game was set at 2-1 to Selston so there was everything to play for and he broke into the box avoiding a couple of challenges, when one Arnold player looked to have caught him with an outstretched leg. I awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box as it looked like he'd been caught just outside but fallen into it but from his reaction, it was clear he'd avoided the tackle and caught his own feet causing him to fall. As a referee, it's difficult to catch this sort of incident as you see the defender make the tackle, hear the contact and see the fall so by peicing it all together in a split second you feel you're making the right decision, but it was incredibly sporting for the Selston player to admit I had it wrong, so I got him to pass a dropped ball back to the Arnold keeper and it was nice to continue the game after such a positive note.

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!