The games are coming thick and fast for me at the moment. My next task was to referee a Friday night friendly encounter between Law Society and the Law firm Baker and McKenzie. LawSoc have several players with whom I am familiar, notably a couple of Cripps stalwarts - its always nice to see some familiar faces when I take charge of a game. The day had been a mixed one weather wise, but the 3G pitch was bathed in sunshine as we kicked off early in the evening.
The start was frenetic, with everyone chasing the ball wherever it went! Both teams seemed to lack a formation as such! Now, I rarely manage to describe every goal in the games I referee, and this will be so much more true in this game - there were thirteen! I've just had a quick check back through my records as to the games with the most goals which I have previously refereed. I have twice refereed a game with 10 goals - Wednesday's game was one of them, as well as a game two years ago between Nightingale and Rutland in gale force winds! Today's thirteen beats that record comfortably. I did, however, run the line to Doug two years ago on a BUSA game between Nottingham seconds and De Montford seconds, which Nottingham won 10-5!
Anyway, to return to the record-breaking game. Baker took the lead 5 minutes in, largely thanks to their powerful but skilled forward who was clearly their best player. He reminded me of Dider Drogba, except without the diving and swearing at the TV camera. They held the lead for a good part of the half; we had a stoppage midway through the half as a Baker played was badly injured in a challenge, so both teams had a chance to regroup. Immediately afterwards, LawSoc equalised; two minutes later they took the lead, and in the 40th minute they made it 3-1 (which came from a throw-in which I had reversed due to a foul throw). And so it remained at half-time.
The start of the second half was most bizarre, as within seven minutes of the restart it had become 6-1. I must make mention of LawSoc sports sec Chris's effort, which caught everyone by surprise, beating the keeper and nestling in the net from a ridiculously narrow angle (I think it was the 4th goal). I had to think for a minute to make sure what I had seen had actually happened, but it was definitely a goal - fluke or otherwise! Baker made it 6-2 in the 58th minute, before the goals dried up for 14 minutes! They pulled another back to 6-3, before another quickfire set of three goals in six minutes brought LawSoc's lead to 9-3. One of the goals came when a LawSoc forward was almost certainly offside, but I had no linesman at that point and so had to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker and allow the goal - it didn't exactly affect the result in any case!
Baker had a series of penalty claims in the second half. The first two came in quick succession - first the forward I mention earlier went down but I wasn't sure as to the contact among the tangle of legs so let play continue. Then another player went down rather dramatically, and I wasn't convinced either - it almost looked like a dive. I was more sure of waving this one away. The next was the most convincing - a handball claim. I am probably too soft on handballs, and doubtless other referees would have pointed to the spot. I wonder if I should have too. The defender's arm was out and it clearly struck him - I couldn't have been better positioned, but my instincts at the time suggested the ball was just hit at him. I was immediately likened to Tom Henning Ovrebo! In any case, Baker got their penalty in the 89th minute when Caesari comprehensively bundled over the Baker striker and this time I had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. I was finally convinced, and unlike Ovrebo I had given one of the four decisions! The penalty was scored by the same striker to complete the goalfest, and shortly afterwards I blew for time on a 9-4 win for LawSoc.
Altogether, a most satisfactory evening for me. The game wasn't particularly challenging, and I tried to keep play flowing by playing lots of advantages, and this was pretty successful. I ignored a few of the more minor offences at times, but it didn't matter and I got the major fouls right. That handball claim is perhaps an error - I went with my instinct at the time. The penalty at the end and one late tackle by Lee Battu were about the only significantly poor challenges, although I kept my cards in my pocket as always! The linesmen I had varied in their reliability, which didn't always help, and I was left without one at the crucial moment for the one LawSoc goal. I don't really think it matters though - the game was a bit of fun and I'm sure both teams enjoyed it. It certainly didn't lack goals or action!
My season is coming to an end now, although I'm hoping that there will still be a couple of matches left for me to referee after exams. My time at university is coming to an end too, and with it my refereeing. I'm really enjoying all the matches at the moment, so its good to be finishing on a high!
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