RateTheRef

NCEL 1
Rainworth v Swallownest
Referee.  Phil Morton ( S&H)
Assisted by Gareth Davies and Robert Boam
Att:71


Did you know? It was outside a Rainworth chippy that "Black Panther " Donald Neilson was arrested here in 1975. Neilson was the subject of a nationwide manhunt, having murdered three Sub-Postmasters in robberies, also kidnapping and involved in the subsequent death of teenager Leslie Whittle. All is still remembered today, and the full details aren't for this site, but is it really 46 years ago?

The Rainworth ground, opposite the Welfare, is" as the Pogues might say "a tower of shining bright", and the old fashioned way of finding grounds at night (park up on edge of town, turn off your lights) would work well here. It's "welcoming and bright" ( Bogle) 🙂. And had they been turned on before 7.20pm it would have even been useful.

I'll halt now with the not-so-hidden lyrics, but will hide a Fivepenny Piece one for my friend oop north in other reports. A bag of Werther's Originals is on the line here....

Mr Morton may want to rethink his view of dissent. Too many transgressions, in my opinion, by one team, sometimes individually, sometimes in two or threes, and sometimes ( in one instance) by half a dozen. What is Mr Morton's limit, one wonders? The whole eleven at once, or does the dugout need to be involved too? Explanations aplenty, but no one seemed to be listening....

And that's a pity, for his fitness and his positioning were very good. I'd bet there aren't many fitter at this level? Occasionally he mimicked an offence, rather than giving a directional signal, which could confuse, but it's a minor point.

His decision making, good in the main, though Swallownest, and I, might want to query the rope given to a Rainworth midfielder. To have a quiet word, followed by a public word, ought really to be followed by action the next time around you'd think?  That Mr Morton's first caution was a Swallownest player..... it was a very hard sell which, for the rest of the half, Mr Morton struggled to do.

The saving grace was that this was the first half. The second half did settle down, so one might say Mr Morton got away with it with the teams in the end? He certainly doesn't have to answer to me, so my views above can float away on the wind....

That Swallownest won at a canter in the end, so all's well that end's well eh? I'm afraid I've no idea, for I left after 79 mins to avoid any crush with the other 70!