Today brings my first 'proper' post. It comes after my last game as a referee this season and I'm hoping I can captivate some sort of mild interest somewhere!
As I sit and type this, my poor legs are literally screaming at me. I say literally, they haven't got a mouth and they aren't shouting obscenities at me but they are really hurting! It has got to that time in the season where they have had just about enough, and it is taking a lot of ice baths and extra training to keep them going.
Anyway, on to last night. After a day off spending too much money on not that much in town, I wolfed down a quick snack and made the short drive down to the ground. It was the 4th time I had visited this ground in the space of a month, so along with it being fairly local, it was nice to feel fairly comfortable with my surroundings. I had refereed the home team (reds) earlier in the season so I knew what to expect from them - a well drilled side who liked to get it down and play football. I hadn't yet come across the Away side (blues) yet so had a look at them as they were warming up to see if I could figure them out.
As it was my final game in the middle, I was determined to enjoy it. And thankfully I did! It was an absolute cracker of a game. I asserted my authority early on by lowering my tolerances, speaking to players and not letting them get away with a single thing. It worked a treat, they were both concentrating on playing the game and had no interest in trying to gain an unfair 'edge'. By half-time the Blues were 2-0 up. I went back into the dressing room feeling pleased with how it was going.
Second half, darkness had fallen and we were under lights. I could feel my legs beginning to tire a little and knew I'd have to up my game to be on top of things. The Reds pulled one back early on and things heated up a bit. I continued to try and manage it without using my cards and made it clear to both captains I wanted to keep it that way. Then the Reds equalised with 10 minutes to go.
The Blues were taking their time with every goal kick/throw/corner so I began to threaten a yellow if they didn't speed it up, seemed to work! With 5 minutes I thought to myself 'You've nailed this one James, well done and great finish to the season'. Well that was a bit of a mistake! The Blues' keeper came out to collect on the edge of his box and fumbled the ball as he had the Reds centre forward bearing down on him. He managed to just about get two hands on it as the Red 11 stuck his foot on it, through the keepers legs and into the back of the net!
Fortunately (for me) I had blown for a blue free kick the moment that Red 11 struck it from the keepers hands. But Reds were fuming. I knew I was right and after explaining my decision everything calmed down. Full time came and there were handshakes and smiles all round although the Reds manager and coach seemed dismayed that I had disallowed a winning goal, but I was 10 yards away from it, and they were 75 yards away, so two guesses who was more likely to be right!
All in all a really good game and I drove home a happy boy, safe in the knowing that I had got the key decision right and had thoroughly enjoyed myself and so had the players. It's always nice when you don't have to get involved until you are really required to and to see at full time that the players had enjoyed it. That's why I love refereeing. Now I have two more appointments as an assistant, and a 4th Official gig at Elland Road in few weeks for a cup final. Plus a few Uni exams thrown in for good measure. Happy Days!
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