I was looking forward to running the Glastonbury 10K that took place today and a few weeks ago I entered the event.
But on Monday I received an email appointing me to referee a Cup Final, an honour in recognition of my service (& good refereeing, I hope!) in the Yeovil and District Youth League.
So today I found myself in the middle, with two neutral assistants, taking charge of the U14 Division 2 Knock Out Cup, between Ash and Castle Cary. It was an enjoyable experience, albeit (or because) it was an easy match to ref. Ash were clearly the stronger side, going 4 up, although Castle Cary rallied towards the end and brought it back to 4 -2 before the end.
On Thursday, I ran the line for our U14s in the Somerset Schools County Cup – for these games a neutral ref is appointed, but schools must supply their own lino, so I swiftly volunteered and enjoyed a day out of school, running the line at Bridgwater FC. Although the score was also 4-2 (to Millfield v Beechen Cliff) it was certainly not a one sided affair – either side could have won, BC spurning a great opportunity to peg it bag to 3-3 with 3 mins to go.
In the first half I ruled out a Beechen goal as off-side, which if it had stood would have put them 2-1 up. Very happy with the decision, although I am still waiting for the video to be uploaded so that I can confirm I was right.
You don’t get paid for finals, instead getting a memento – the two pictured above. Perhaps I’ll need to build a trophy cabinet …