Arrival at the ground saw me directed along the side of the field to the cricket pavilion where I was assured I would have full use of private facilities. I have to say I was a little disappointed when I found that my pre-match duties included cleaning out my shower cubicle which looked like it had been used by the previous occupant to wash his boots!
After my warm up I made sure I had both teamsheets and noticed one player had been named in the starting line-up and as a substitute. A quick amendment later and I had my full complement of names.
We got underway and in the very first challenge I had to defuse a difficult situation as players came together venting steam. I got in to separate things, ensured an injured player received attention, spoke to the offender and the main aggravator. The next strong challenge saw me issue the game's first caution and things seemed to settle down.
One player appeared to carry out a simulation so I spoke to him about it and when he did a similar thing a few minutes later in the opposition penalty area, I felt obliged to caution him. Simulation is a difficult thing to adjust but I read a piece on a learned friend's website a long time ago and I use the advice there as my yardstick. After the game I talked to the player about his actions and he still was convinced that he hadn't simulated a foul. One of his team mates voiced his own opinion a little too loudly from a little too far away and he collected a caution for dissent.
The away team were awarded and missed a kick from the penalty mark. It would have been re-taken if the player had scored because at least one of his team mates had encroached before the ball was kicked. So we continued through to half time with the away team (higher in the league) pushing hard without much of a cutting edge.
The second half saw some stoppages for injury - twice for the same player - then we had one player who committed two cautionable offences in the space of 18 minutes and was dismissed. Another chose to ignore my whistle when I adjudged him to have committed an offside offence. He continued his run and took a shot on goal and collected the game's last caution.
Around the same time I had a pain spike me in a place which can only be described as my backside. It was a nasty little hamstring strain, very high up on my leg. I kept on running but it kept twinging and I was happy when the 7 minutes of added time were complete but the score remained 0-0. Calories 1538 max hr 90% (low!) and average 75%.
As for the aches and pains the hamstring pain keeps pulsing, reaching a spike every half or so, both thighs are stiff, my calves are creaking and my right knee keeps locking out as it it did a few times last season. I have two weekends coming up soon where I have closed one day per weekend. I think I need a rest from the mud (and perhaps cleaning out the shower before the game wasn't such a good idea!!!).
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