Birmingham-Swansea

I’m all about the EFL this evening .

Will post a video when it’s uploaded.

However two penalty incidents in the first half and two potentially significant errors from the referee. Disappointing as up until the first he’d been on it, but as KMIs I can see this counting against him from the observer. And looking at his body language after the first penalty, he gets a call over the headset and then his head drops some as though his confidence is shaken. Tough night potentially

Anyway -
1: Penalty given correctly, but allows the goalkeeper to keep punching the bar. It’s visibly and audibly moving when the kick is taken, and it’s saved. No retake ordered.

2: Jutkiewicz challenges a defender who clears the ball, but in doing so kicks him in the head, hard enough to draw blood. It’s an immediate and obvious head injury. No penalty and plays on until the ball goes out for a throw.

I've got no problem with either. Unlike the goalkeeper coming off his line, the taker has chosen to take his very average penalty with he GK doing that. And as for the second (yes, he should have stopped play) but 1) he wasn't kicked in the head as the foot made no contact with the head and 2) the defender is perfectly entitled to go for that, his foot is there before the attacker's head. He's trying (unsuccessfully) to win a penalty. Top refereeing tonight from TH.

I'm also curious as to what you think happened after the first? If my AR tells me the penalty needs retaken because of something I've missed I'm either 1) disagreeing and therefore not letting it get to me or 2) ordering a retake. How could he have been told what had happened, played on and let it bother him?

I think it was a case of no.1, but self doubt crept in after that. There were minor errors and hesitancy afterward that weren’t apparent before.

Second half different story and back on top of it, which was good to see. Someone perhaps had a word at half time and said to him to put it behind him and nail everything else.

Which he did.