Under 13's. League Cup. 2nd Round.
Away v Delamere Rangers

  Result - Reddish North End 1 Delamere Rangers 5

Match Report: James Emmerson

This morning has left a very nasty taste after a promising game was marred by a couple of malicious and spiteful tackles from the Delamere team, and an appalling performance from the young referee. I was absolutely disgusted by his lack of control and concerned for the well being of my team, and for the first time ever I pulled the team off the pitch with a few minutes still to play.

In four seasons of running this side I have never had cause to write to the league to complain about an official but I have done so today, having given the referee my lowest ever mark on a match card. I am deeply disappointed that the boys did not get more reward for a spirited and courageous performance against a big side who were allowed to get away with some intimidating play and a frustratingly high number of shoves and pushes.

This isn’t sour grapes because we lost. Delamere took their chances well and although we created plenty of opportunities, unfortunately we weren’t as clinical as they were. I have no complaints about the result in that respect because we’ve only ourselves to blame for not defending better, and for not scoring more. Although Jamie finished well after one of several great moves, it was one of those days, sadly.

But the game was overshadowed by two absolutely disgraceful incidents in the second half. By some miracle Mark avoided injury after being ‘tackled’ by a player who flew in with both feet off the ground, catching him between knee and thigh. It was a malicious and deliberate attempt to injure a player, the like of which I have never seen before. The referee – only after heated protests from myself and our parents – spoke to the Delamere player, but didn’t even book him, let alone send him off.

I can promise you it is no exaggeration to say that, had Mark been injured, there would have been good reason to involve the Police. It was the most disgraceful and unpleasant thing I have ever seen in junior football and we were all left spitting feathers over the referee’s obvious indifference to the seriousness of the offence.

There was another nasty slide tackle later on which, although on the ground this time, was still another intentional attempt to injure one of our players. By this time tempers were getting frayed – it was obvious the referee had lost all control – and when another verbal spat blew up I ordered the ref to finish the match and took the players off.

I talked at some length with the ref afterwards and was aghast at his attitude towards the two tackles I have mentioned above. He was of the view that as this is junior football, cards aren’t necessary or appropriate! Unbelievable! At U10’s and U11’s maybe, but at U13’s this game is tough and physical. Many of the boys today were bigger than the adults present, including the referee! Anyway I have put my thoughts on paper for the league and hopefully they will take the appropriate action.

Delamere now play Moston in the semi-final and there are no prizes for guessing who we will be rooting for!

We return to league action next week away at Glossop.

Scorers : Jamie

Man of the match : Shared between Callum W (superb in goal) and Sam (hit the bar twice and set Jamie up)