Monday, May 07, 2007
Kicking On - yet another update
Another of those frustrating episodes to add to the list.
In yesterday’s Blacktown v. Marconi state league game, Blacktown’s little playmaker “Chi Chi” Mendez received his second yellow card for playing on after the whistle, shortly before half-time.
Once again, it was petty, bloody-minded refereeing.
What happened was this: Luke Roodenburg expertly flicked a header on for Mendez, who raced on to the ball, with a clear path to goal. The linesman signalled (incorrectly, I felt), the referee whistled…and, with little time to react, Mendez sent a perfect chip over the advancing Daniel Nash in the Marconi goal.
Now Blacktown were, at this point, 2-0 down. Time-wasting was not an issue, then (as if it would have been in any case, at that stage of the game).
Petulance? Mendez hardly whacked the ball into the carpark. He simply finished as he would normally do; he probably had heard the whistle, but if it had turned out to be simply a mischievous whistle from the crowd (some fans really need to develop some common sense in this respect), he would have felt a fool for pulling up.
There was an interesting contrast a couple of minutes later, when Marconi’s Kain Rastall blatantly, and cynically, body-checked a Blacktown attacker on his way to goal.
Now this was a deliberate and, potentially, a physically dangerous foul. It prevented, if not a clear goal-scoring chance, then at least a promising run at goal.
Rastall had already been yellow carded.
In this case, he got off scot-free.
Is there anything wrong with this picture? The home fans certainly thought so, and I heartily agreed with them.
In yesterday’s Blacktown v. Marconi state league game, Blacktown’s little playmaker “Chi Chi” Mendez received his second yellow card for playing on after the whistle, shortly before half-time.
Once again, it was petty, bloody-minded refereeing.
What happened was this: Luke Roodenburg expertly flicked a header on for Mendez, who raced on to the ball, with a clear path to goal. The linesman signalled (incorrectly, I felt), the referee whistled…and, with little time to react, Mendez sent a perfect chip over the advancing Daniel Nash in the Marconi goal.
Now Blacktown were, at this point, 2-0 down. Time-wasting was not an issue, then (as if it would have been in any case, at that stage of the game).
Petulance? Mendez hardly whacked the ball into the carpark. He simply finished as he would normally do; he probably had heard the whistle, but if it had turned out to be simply a mischievous whistle from the crowd (some fans really need to develop some common sense in this respect), he would have felt a fool for pulling up.
There was an interesting contrast a couple of minutes later, when Marconi’s Kain Rastall blatantly, and cynically, body-checked a Blacktown attacker on his way to goal.
Now this was a deliberate and, potentially, a physically dangerous foul. It prevented, if not a clear goal-scoring chance, then at least a promising run at goal.
Rastall had already been yellow carded.
In this case, he got off scot-free.
Is there anything wrong with this picture? The home fans certainly thought so, and I heartily agreed with them.
