Game 45

Perseverance pays off! I had a Sunday League Division One game until Tuesday when the County FA asked me to look after a FA Women's Premier League Reserves game. On Friday I got a call from the home team's secretary who advised that the host club had declared their field unfit.

In their view there was a likelihood that the Ladies game would cut up the field of play and they, the hosts, has their own men's first team game booked for 48 hours later. The potential for damage which may have resulted in the Ladies game was too much, perhaps meaning the men's first team game having to be postponed. I advised the County FA who confirmed that I was released from my commitment and I chased another Sunday League game. I got one in Division Two!

An early departure for me as I'd been tipped off on Saturday that there might be a problem with the home field and a second venue had been pencilled in just in case the usual field was unfit. Unusual action by a Sunday League team but welcome all the same. On arriving I saw why, as a field of play inspection at 9:50 revealed the field was soft all over the park with a very soft area with a small amount of standing water close to the centre circle. In the goal area at the bottom of the hill however there was a puddle a few inches deep and about 1m sq. in area, too much to sweep out and too dangerous to play.

The home team had, as mentioned, already made loose arrangements for another field to be used but these were scuppered by an U14 team, both fields nearby were occupied and a fifth slightly further away was also occupied. They checked out 5 different fields in an attempt to get this game on. Finally at 10:25 we gave up trying to find a field and declared this one off.

So I headed off to watch Fat Lad at a nearby Division One game. When I got there I noticed a junior team getting ready to play a game. I asked the home manager if he needed a referee and he was only too happy for me to help. I was soon greeted by Chewitt's dad. He had a little chuckle and said he would tell Chewitt that I'd been involved in his team's game. After I had changed (only needed my shirt and boots on as I'd changed into the rest at the earlier postponed fixture in the hope that we might have played that one) I jogged back to the field by way of a warm-up. So I did 30 minutes each way of U11 football. I was frozen to my core as an icy wind and horizontal snow bit hard in the second half. It didn't stop the home team from winning comfortably with a 6-1 score.

I only had to speak to one player who I thought had used an offensive word, but on being challenged, he denied it and explained what he had said - we parted on good terms. I burned an embarrassing 598 calories, max hr 77%, average 60% in this game and I couldn't feel my fingers for a full 15 minutes after I got back into the car. Summer football anyone?