Beware! Crap referee 100 yards ahead.In the build up to this game news was circulating that Jason Clark, a managing director of B2Net, the company Chesterfield's new ground is being named after, is lining up to take over the Tigers as the clubs new owner in the near future,.
I would like to place on record my personal thanks to the outgoing club owner John Hepworth and his wife Janice for doing so much to keep Worksop Town FC in business (along with others, you know who you are) through a very unstable and traumatic time for the club.
Good luck and welcome Jason.
Many thanks and best wishes for the future Janice and John.
Don't be strangers xx
Standing on the outside looking in ...At the New Manor Ground, Ilkeston
Worksop Town (1) 1 (Townsend 39)
Guiseley (1) 3 (Muller 21, Needham 50, Burton 55)
Admission by Season Ticket. Programme £2. Attendance 184
Left click on photographs for super-sized versions
Do you remember that black and white Norman Wisdom film, where he found his dad's old police uniform tucked away in a trunk and took to the streets dressed up in it, impersonating an officer of the law ... blowing his whistle 'with hilarious consequences?'
Well today, in a parallel universe, in Derbyshire, a man called M.C. Dexter, acted out a similar drama, give or take a few exceptions:1) He wore a referee's kit instead of an oversized police uniform.
2) He didn't blow his whistle when he bloody well should have done at least twice.
3) The consequences weren't very funny at all ... unless of course you've got used to laughing at the absurdity of it all in the face of adversity.
In the original version of 'On The Beat' Pitkin, played by Wisdom, actually refereed a game of football some schoolboys were playing in the street.
Alas, today M.C. Dexter was officiating at a game played by grown ups where league positions and livelihoods were at stake.
Good tackle!
A passing Midland Mainline Express train, with some footballers in the foreground.
Good tackle!A passing Midland Mainline Express train, with some footballers in the foreground.
Worksop had not played for six weeks prior to today's game, Guiseley arrived full of confidence on the back of an excellent result in the FA Trophy at Blyth Spartans last week and are just behind the front runners at the top of the table with plenty of games in hand, so it was fairly obvious which team would be fastest out of the blocks.
It would be a test to see if the Tigers, barely out of winter hibernation, would be able to contain the Lions from Harry Ramsden land in the early exchanges, until they started to find their feet again.
It was inevitable then, that the visitors attacked from the off.
Patrick Lauber, on the left wing, looked a real hand full and both he and Liam Needham came close to breaking the deadlock early on, before ....
It was even more inevitable, that the 'ex factor' would rear it's head again too.
When Steve Burton hit a left wing free kick into the area, former Tigers player Adam Muller headed it back across the goal and it nestled just inside the post.
It looked to be going wide from up in the posh seats ... but it bloomin' well wasn't!
Adam Burley, the Tigers left back almost repeated Muller's trick a few minutes later from exactly the same spot, but fortunately his (own) goal bound header crept just wide of the post.
From the resulting corner, the ball found it's way out to Muller again and Kennedy did very well to stop his well struck shot.
When did Muller learn to head the ball so precisely and shoot like that?
He's come on a lot since he was a raw young player at Worksop.
The Tigers were competing well and will obviously get sharper with a few more games under their belts after the enforced mid season break, but they would have been glad of the half time breather that was drawing close as Gary Townsend actually pulled the game level, heading home Lowe's free kick on 39 minutes, just 'ever so slightly' against the run of play.
Half time 1-1 and the visitors must've wished that they had taken at least another of the clear cut chances they had created.
They had certainly had the 'lion's share'.
Mr Dexter was having an awful game, missing fouls from both sides and generally not keeping on top of the game very well at all, but we consoled ourselves with the hope that at least he couldn't possibly get any worse in the second half.
He could though!
The Lions fans who had been behind the goal in the first half definitely let him know their feelings when he left the pitch at half time.
It would be a test to see if the Tigers, barely out of winter hibernation, would be able to contain the Lions from Harry Ramsden land in the early exchanges, until they started to find their feet again.
It was inevitable then, that the visitors attacked from the off.
Patrick Lauber, on the left wing, looked a real hand full and both he and Liam Needham came close to breaking the deadlock early on, before ....
It was even more inevitable, that the 'ex factor' would rear it's head again too.
When Steve Burton hit a left wing free kick into the area, former Tigers player Adam Muller headed it back across the goal and it nestled just inside the post.
It looked to be going wide from up in the posh seats ... but it bloomin' well wasn't!
Adam Burley, the Tigers left back almost repeated Muller's trick a few minutes later from exactly the same spot, but fortunately his (own) goal bound header crept just wide of the post.
From the resulting corner, the ball found it's way out to Muller again and Kennedy did very well to stop his well struck shot.
When did Muller learn to head the ball so precisely and shoot like that?
He's come on a lot since he was a raw young player at Worksop.
The Tigers were competing well and will obviously get sharper with a few more games under their belts after the enforced mid season break, but they would have been glad of the half time breather that was drawing close as Gary Townsend actually pulled the game level, heading home Lowe's free kick on 39 minutes, just 'ever so slightly' against the run of play.Half time 1-1 and the visitors must've wished that they had taken at least another of the clear cut chances they had created.
They had certainly had the 'lion's share'.
Mr Dexter was having an awful game, missing fouls from both sides and generally not keeping on top of the game very well at all, but we consoled ourselves with the hope that at least he couldn't possibly get any worse in the second half.
He could though!
The Lions fans who had been behind the goal in the first half definitely let him know their feelings when he left the pitch at half time.
At corners, always obstruct the keeper to give your forwards a better chance of getting tothe ball first. Alas I've looked through all of my photos from the game and couldn't find any
of a single Tigers player committing a foul. I must've been looking away and missed them ;-)
The second half.
Hmm ... where to begin?
From the outset, neither team were being especially shy about 'challenging firmly' for the ball, but the referee wasn't simply turning a blind eye to a bit of the physical stuff and letting the game flow, he was just missing everything and anything that was happening around him.
On 51 minutes, Worksop's Danny Bacon was flattened in the centre circle as he chased the ball up field, it was as blatant a free kick as you'll ever see, but while the Tigers players protested, Dexter waved it away and Guiseley broke forwards.
Walshaw did well to get a cross in from the left and Needham got on the end of it to score following a bit of a scramble in the box.
At this point let me say, though Guiseley had benefited from the incident, they hadn't cheated, the referee had waved play on and you have to abide to his whistle and his instruction.
He'd got numerous decisions wrong both ways by now, the only difference being this one had led to the build up for a goal.
It wasn't anybody from Guiseley's fault that Mr M.C. Dexter was having an appalling game.
However, five minutes later Steve Hawes, making his debut (again) for the Tigers after rejoining them in time for today's game, was fouled and went down hurt.
The ref didn't stop the game, but most of the players from both teams stopped anyway ... and players from both teams called out to Worksop's Rob Austin to put the ball out of play so Hawes could receive treatment.
But for whatever reason, naivety probably, he didn't.
Both teams had stopped and were stood still by now and Austin just poked the ball away gently towards his own box and joined the other players hanging around waiting for the physio to be waved on.
With all the other players on the pitch stood around, except for Hawes obviously, Guiseley's Steve Burton suddenly ran off with the ball and crashed it into the goal past John Kennedy.
None of Burton's team mates celebrated, but he did ... and chaos ensued.
At this point, we were stood near the technical area benches and Guiseley's James Cotterill ran over to his manager and appeared to ask if they were going to let Worksop walk one in, which would have been within the spirit of the game, if not mandatory under the rules and regulations, after such an unsporting act.
Obviously they weren't.
As Dexter hadn't actually blown the whistle there was nothing he could do to intervene and technically speaking no rules of the game had actually been infringed.
But it sure as hell wasn't very sporting.
The truth of the mater is, you have to play to the whistle ... and to that end there was something the referee could have done, keep up with the game and blow his a bit more often.
There was something that Rob Austin could have done too, or any other player on the pitch for that matter, but nobody put the ball out of play.
As I've said, players from both teams stopped when Hawes went down, but that in itself doesn't mean the physio can come onto the pitch.
Guiseley were good enough to have won the game without Burton's unsporting behaviour and have a few quality players in their ranks - it was unnecessary and added an unsavoury twist to a game that Dexter had already ruined as a spectacle.
The third goal effectively killed the Tigers off, which just rubbed salt into their wounds.
Guiseley had several opportunities to really put the game out of reach but didn't add to their total ... and Andy White, on as a late sub, almost got one back for Worksop, but it wasn't to be.
Hmm ... where to begin?
From the outset, neither team were being especially shy about 'challenging firmly' for the ball, but the referee wasn't simply turning a blind eye to a bit of the physical stuff and letting the game flow, he was just missing everything and anything that was happening around him.
On 51 minutes, Worksop's Danny Bacon was flattened in the centre circle as he chased the ball up field, it was as blatant a free kick as you'll ever see, but while the Tigers players protested, Dexter waved it away and Guiseley broke forwards.
Walshaw did well to get a cross in from the left and Needham got on the end of it to score following a bit of a scramble in the box.
At this point let me say, though Guiseley had benefited from the incident, they hadn't cheated, the referee had waved play on and you have to abide to his whistle and his instruction.
He'd got numerous decisions wrong both ways by now, the only difference being this one had led to the build up for a goal.
It wasn't anybody from Guiseley's fault that Mr M.C. Dexter was having an appalling game.
However, five minutes later Steve Hawes, making his debut (again) for the Tigers after rejoining them in time for today's game, was fouled and went down hurt.
The ref didn't stop the game, but most of the players from both teams stopped anyway ... and players from both teams called out to Worksop's Rob Austin to put the ball out of play so Hawes could receive treatment.
But for whatever reason, naivety probably, he didn't.
Both teams had stopped and were stood still by now and Austin just poked the ball away gently towards his own box and joined the other players hanging around waiting for the physio to be waved on.
With all the other players on the pitch stood around, except for Hawes obviously, Guiseley's Steve Burton suddenly ran off with the ball and crashed it into the goal past John Kennedy.
None of Burton's team mates celebrated, but he did ... and chaos ensued.
At this point, we were stood near the technical area benches and Guiseley's James Cotterill ran over to his manager and appeared to ask if they were going to let Worksop walk one in, which would have been within the spirit of the game, if not mandatory under the rules and regulations, after such an unsporting act.
Obviously they weren't.
As Dexter hadn't actually blown the whistle there was nothing he could do to intervene and technically speaking no rules of the game had actually been infringed.
But it sure as hell wasn't very sporting.
The truth of the mater is, you have to play to the whistle ... and to that end there was something the referee could have done, keep up with the game and blow his a bit more often.There was something that Rob Austin could have done too, or any other player on the pitch for that matter, but nobody put the ball out of play.
As I've said, players from both teams stopped when Hawes went down, but that in itself doesn't mean the physio can come onto the pitch.
Guiseley were good enough to have won the game without Burton's unsporting behaviour and have a few quality players in their ranks - it was unnecessary and added an unsavoury twist to a game that Dexter had already ruined as a spectacle.
The third goal effectively killed the Tigers off, which just rubbed salt into their wounds.
Guiseley had several opportunities to really put the game out of reach but didn't add to their total ... and Andy White, on as a late sub, almost got one back for Worksop, but it wasn't to be.
Any moment now this tranquil scene will erupt into chaos.Long Eaton United v Worksop Town
Friendly Match, Tuesday 26th January
