Match 1 - Derby vs Broadgate Park

I turned up at Grove Farm Playing Fields today with not a clue who I would be refereeing! In the end, while Luke went off to do Nightingale's game against Cavendish (more on that later) I strolled around and, after chatting with the guys running the Derby Hall team, was given their match against Broadgate Park.

As games go, it was a good one to start with. After a couple of early handballs (one signalled by a linesman), play settled down and I wasn't called upon to even give a foul in the first 25 minutes or so, although I played a couple of advantages. Broadgate seemed to think Derby were pushing, climbing and being overly physical, although I didn't see anything wrong. I let the minor bumps and pushes go, aiming to clamp down on the more major ones. Derby opened the scoring in the 13th minute, adding a second six minutes later. They had a penalty appeal as defender and attacker went in for the ball together, but I wasn't convinced so waved it away. They added to their tally again in the 37th minute. Broadgate's goalkeeper didn't seem totally confident, and while Broadgate had been playing some nice stuff going forward, they weren't well organised in defence. Then came my favourite moment - one of those advantages which paid off and led to a goal! One of the Derby players was pulled back but they carried on forward and added a fourth goal a minute before the break.

I thought to myself at half-time that a comeback would be pretty unlikely. Broadgate came out all guns blazing for the second half, and to their credit they had much the better of proceedings. However, a solitary 57th minute consolation was all they to show for it. A couple of other minor penalty appeals were waved away, I refused to give handball unless I felt it was deliberate, and I tried to keep the game flowing at every opportunity. There were a couple of pretty long waits before I brought play back, which bemused the players slightly, but I made it clear that I was trying to let the game flow, and wasn't simply responding to the opposition's appeals. The only time I thought about showing a card was to a Derby player whose handball broke up a promising Broadgate attack. I called him over to me, but reckoned it was more instinct than any malicious attempt to stop the attack, so I let him off with a word that the next such offence would definitely lead to a yellow card. With the score settled, I didn't need to play any added time and brought to a close a convincing 4-1 win for Derby.

Overall, as I said, a good game to get my season going. There were no particularly challenging moments, no yellow cards, and there was no animosity between the teams. I sat back, let it flow, and interfered only when I needed to - an enjoyable game and I was happy with my performance. The linesman were also helpful today - not being flag-happy and generally providing me with the decisions I needed at the right moments.

As the game finished in good time, I wandered over to see the closing moments of Nightingale's encounter with Cavendish. With five minutes to go, Nightingale were leading 5-4, having come back from 3-0 down. Luke had given Nightingale a clear penalty, and turned down a Cavendish appeal. There were two yellows cards, one late on after Luke had played an advantage (so bonus points for him there!). Nightingale held on, and Pat was pleased to see them pick up their first points. Cavendish seemed to be using it as a trial, so had a huge squad and were making constant substitutions, which probably didn't help their cause. I gather Luke did well, and he enjoyed it which is the main thing. One thing though - I will be giving him a proper whistle, as the one he was using was barely audible from the opposite side of the pitch! Timekeeping on his mobile phone doesn't look particularly professional either! But for his first outing, I think he'll be quite happy with a good performance in a competitive derby match between the neighbouring halls.

So, we're off and running then - another intra-mural season gets going. I'm looking forward to everything it has to offer, and lets hope everyone enjoys themselves!