Given my record this season, I was expecting nothing less than a tightly-fought, dramatic match, and unsurprisingly that is what played out. However, following warnings beforehand that it would be tense and to expect to have to get a grip early, I felt prepared and more confident than I have in a while.
The away side raced into a 2-0 lead, but soon it became clear that the start had given an inaccurate reflection of the respective quality of both sides, and by half time the home team had brought it back to 2-2.
No major problems from players or coaches at this point; one contested overrule of offside after I felt one striker had backed off from challenging for an aerial ball, whereupon the ball fell to an onside attacker, but that was about it.
You could say the second half was more eventful.. Tempers were rising 5-10 minutes into the half, and luckily I was right where I needed to be when the fuse inevitably blew.
Three players (2 home, 1 away), obviously responding to something (unsure what exactly initiated it, but I saw the worst of it), engaged in some pushing and shoving. Very easy AA decisions, and I took some time with the cautions to draw the sting out of the match. So much for the disciplinary side.
There was then a lull before the away side regained their two-goal advantage, and it was at that point that two technical talking points occurred to swing the match.
First, I gave a back pass against the away team about 8 yards from goal, quite similar to another one earlier this season (whatever that says about me). I've actually contributed to a forum on here about this type of decision and it was in my mind when I gave it, but I was convinced a defender had tapped it to his keeper, who was only too happy to pick it up with 2-3 attackers in the vicinity. Yes, we can argue that an IDFK in this position is a generous reward for this type of offence, but that's no excuse not to follow the laws and potentially give oneself an easier ride towards full time. The IDFK was scored, and some minutes later the same goalkeeper had a shocker: as he waited for the ball to roll into his box, a striker was too quick and nipped it away to be left with an empty net. A few protests that he'd had hands on it, but I felt the almost simultaneous action of keeper/striker gave me no right to judge that the keeper was challenged illegally.
Overall, despite some controversy, I felt strangely calm at the end of the match, knowing I had done my best in a difficult situation. I was pretty hot on fouls throughout, as the home manager had said pre-kick-off that a previous fixture had spiralled wildly out of control with challenges unpunished. If he/his team felt I was whiste-happy, well it's only what they asked for.
Glad to receive appreciation from parents and grudging respect from away coaches, who (predictably) believed I had seen a phantom touch between defender and keeper.
Sorry for the long post; it was just nice to walk off with some self-belief. Any comments are valued.
The away side raced into a 2-0 lead, but soon it became clear that the start had given an inaccurate reflection of the respective quality of both sides, and by half time the home team had brought it back to 2-2.
No major problems from players or coaches at this point; one contested overrule of offside after I felt one striker had backed off from challenging for an aerial ball, whereupon the ball fell to an onside attacker, but that was about it.
You could say the second half was more eventful.. Tempers were rising 5-10 minutes into the half, and luckily I was right where I needed to be when the fuse inevitably blew.
Three players (2 home, 1 away), obviously responding to something (unsure what exactly initiated it, but I saw the worst of it), engaged in some pushing and shoving. Very easy AA decisions, and I took some time with the cautions to draw the sting out of the match. So much for the disciplinary side.
There was then a lull before the away side regained their two-goal advantage, and it was at that point that two technical talking points occurred to swing the match.
First, I gave a back pass against the away team about 8 yards from goal, quite similar to another one earlier this season (whatever that says about me). I've actually contributed to a forum on here about this type of decision and it was in my mind when I gave it, but I was convinced a defender had tapped it to his keeper, who was only too happy to pick it up with 2-3 attackers in the vicinity. Yes, we can argue that an IDFK in this position is a generous reward for this type of offence, but that's no excuse not to follow the laws and potentially give oneself an easier ride towards full time. The IDFK was scored, and some minutes later the same goalkeeper had a shocker: as he waited for the ball to roll into his box, a striker was too quick and nipped it away to be left with an empty net. A few protests that he'd had hands on it, but I felt the almost simultaneous action of keeper/striker gave me no right to judge that the keeper was challenged illegally.
Overall, despite some controversy, I felt strangely calm at the end of the match, knowing I had done my best in a difficult situation. I was pretty hot on fouls throughout, as the home manager had said pre-kick-off that a previous fixture had spiralled wildly out of control with challenges unpunished. If he/his team felt I was whiste-happy, well it's only what they asked for.
Glad to receive appreciation from parents and grudging respect from away coaches, who (predictably) believed I had seen a phantom touch between defender and keeper.
Sorry for the long post; it was just nice to walk off with some self-belief. Any comments are valued.
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