We played hard and well this morning, seemingly doing enough to get the win. But it was not to be. Instead, we ended with a 1-1 tie against Tsunami Naranja. Hey, cheers, the result keeps our playoffs hope alive (for now) and extends our no-loss streak to 5 games.The decisive moment of the match came in the 80' on a controversial and late offside call. Jon had received a through ball down the right wing, which he dribbled to the goal line and crossed back for Nathan. Nathan received the ball at the 5 yard line and finished nicely for what should have been our second goal. The line judge raised the flag after the play and the center ref accepted the call. No goal. The diagram above depicts the situation as it should have been viewed by the refs. Oh, well, there's no use crying over spilt milk!
We picked up an early goal when Chris threaded the defense and shot from 15 yards in the 5'. We'll credit Ally for the assist despite what I viewed as a possible deflection before the ball came to Chris' feet. Our initial assaults on goal showed strength and tactical awareness because Tsunami started the game shorthanded. For most of the first half, we controlled the pace.
In the second half, we yielded control for a few minutes, but made satisfactory adjustments. Eventually, though, Tsunami did well to finish a relatively low percentage opportunity in the 87'. The ball bounced to Brian at the top of the box, and he put just enough on the ball to roll it to goal before Mike could retrieve it on the goal line. It's a frustrating goal, but nothing to fret about because we can't stop everything.
We were good in all phases of the game. We should be happy with the game actually. The defense was outstanding, right to left, top to bottom, and especially Liam who broke up a one-on-one well outside the box! Midfielders made the adjustments they needed to in order regain control of the match and impede counterattacks. Yes, finishing was an issue, but the forwards did put the ball in the net twice in the second half, it's just that the goals were called back (foul on Jon; offside). The forwards played well!
Good game everyone! Congratulations to Tsunami on their sportsmanship and performance today.
Notes: 1-1 tie versus Tsunami Naranja, Oct. 28, 2007, Trinity. Goals: Chris (Ally). GK: Liam. Yellow: Jon. Two goals called back!
I don't think I ever looked at the possibility if us having a tie. It looks like both Quicksilver and Red Devils have to win to bump us out of the playoffs. Correct me if I'm wrong.
ReplyDelete(the real bad news is Liverpool tied at Anfield today :(
That's correct. It starts with Celtic/Quicksilver. If Celtic wins or ties, we're fine. If not, we have to look to the Red Devils game. The problem there is that Red Devils are likely to win.
ReplyDeleteSo two years running, poor reffing decisions have doomed the Goleros.
ReplyDeleteNot to blame it all on the refs, but key moments have not gone our way.
Pete, I do recommend that you bring up the disallowed goal to the league. From the sound of it, it was a mistake in the interpretation of the laws of the game on that offside call. Now a new linesman might make that mistake, but the center referee needs to know better, be in a position to see the call and take the time to clarify the ruling with the linesman before allowing or disallowing the goal. In this case, the referee would go to the linesman, ask if the pass was passed backwards from the goal line to the goal scorer, in which case the goal would be allowed and the referee could overrule the linesman. This is the proper way to approach it, but it requires a center referee who is close enough to the play to know that there could be a question.
The bottom line is this, it is impossible to be offside on a cross from the goal line. If Jon was on the goal line (and the referee should have been close enough to see that) then there would be no offside and the goal would stand.
This is such basic reffing that someone really needs to take this up with CCSL. They seem to be very concerned with protecting their refs (which I appreciate, I am one) but I would think they would be equally concerned with training good refs. This is a training opportunity. Let's not do this to get a result, let's get after them so that the overall quality of the reffing improves.
P.S. I'm glad I wasn't there. I would have blown a gasket.
ReplyDeleteJer - it is tempting to view the game this way...But the reality is a little different I think.
ReplyDeleteWe played a good game and so did Tsunami. It's not a truly mind boggling end like the Team X game. We can hold our heads up high and just say "oh well." You wouldn't have blown a gasket, you would have agreed with this sentiment.
Reffing didn't determine the match, so in that sense the refs did their job. We had lots of opportunities to score goals that were not ultimately scored. We did give up a goal on our side. The offside call was the wrong one. I talked to the ref - who I think does a pretty good job generally - and he said he didn't not have the best angle to see the play. He thought in his head that it was possible that Nathan was in front of the ball instead of behind it. That is why he did not question the raising of the flag. The play happened fast so the ref wasn't in the best position to overturn the call. I'm not sure if there's fault in that - probably not since the play happened at the 5 yard line.
There's definitely a risk to my post. I wanted to make people feel better about the loss, but I don't want to instill anger against the refs. These refs are pretty darn good for rec soccer, with the exception of that Team X match where the call was more retaliation than interpreting the rules. I think people have forgotten the rag tag crews in Montgomery County, who would blow or not blow the whistle indiscriminantly.
Let's keep spirits high!
Thanks for the post Pete. It is instructive to recall that the refs in Mont. County were basically just there to cash their check, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that the quality of reffing in the CCSL is high, you just always have to hope for better. I know they are putting a high emphasis on training so I do think they can still take the opportunity to evaluate the referees for that. Instructive criticism should be important to any referee that is there to get better.
Quicksilver won and finished 3rd... We finished 7th....
ReplyDeleteWell, Peter, I agree mostly with your assessment of the reffing etc., except for one little detail.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I'm not too upset about the bad offsides call - I was even - I watched Jon all the way - but the angle the AR was viewing the play could have led him to think I was off - or my head could have been off - etc. (honestly I believe his brain was fried and he called me off because I was past the last defender - which didn't apply because the ball was beyond the last defender)
What upsets me is the string of events in those last five minutes. Bad offsides, then I got hit in the back going up for a header (no call), then he calls that soft foul on us in the middle of the field, which led to their goal.
I also disagree with you as to how well they played. They have good control of the ball, however, it did seam like we had about fifty shots on goal and they had one.
It will take me awhile to get over this one....perhaps I don't remember how I felt after the final last season, but in my mind right now this is worse - basically because I think we were the better team on the day - whereas last season's final was very even.
and like Jer says one goal is the difference between tied for first and 7th place.
nate - there is no reason to be frustrated or upset. we played well and showed a lot of effort and heart. That is what's important. The reffing wasn't great, but that's the way of things, there's just nothing we are ever going to do about it.
ReplyDeletein the meantime, it's important to see the game for what it was - a good contest where we outplayed the opponent in every phase of the game. that's the highlight - and frankly what we can take away from the season. when you go 5 games in CCSL without losing, that means you're in good shape. if we keep it up next season, we will finally win the division.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteI'm going with Jeremy on this one. There is a professional aspect to the calls that should be addressed. Issues like this come up routinely enough, and they are discussed/distributed when appropriate to the group of referees. This is for training purposes and better consistency in handling calls and situations throughout the league.
I don't think they will make it into anything disciplinary or negative when addressing it, but everyone needs some feedback from coleagues about how to improve. Jeremy is right the league takes refereeing seriously. The CCSL puts a lot of effort into the quality of the league, and they do want to improve when something comes up. The other thing is that in a well-ref'ed game, you shouldn't really noticed the referees. They are there to administer the game. In this case, a referee *changed* the game.
I say mention it in a civil way to the league. (You're good at that.)
Thanks for agreeing Liam. This can be mentioned to the league in the right way. We're not completely complaining and we're not officially protesting the result, we are offering constructive criticism to improve the reffing in the league.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the bottom line. In reffing, you LEARN from your mistakes. I've reffed enough to know and remember the mistakes that I have made and you know what happens. Those are on my mind the next time I ref and they become a part of my game as a ref. If you let this go, you are just asking to have it happen again. If the referees that make the mistakes aren't aware of them, they aren't going to correct their behavior.
The team referees have spoken. Take it up with the league.
Well, Liam and Jer, I've been in both Peter's shoes (captain) and your shoes (ref) in matters like this. From my own experience everytime I sat down to right an email to the league complaining about a ref I never sent it because as I re-read the email back to myself it just sounded like whining.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the other side, I've never gotten feedback from a team captain (other than "You suck ref!" etc etc) or the league after a particular game I reffed. Not sure how it could be done constructively.
CCSL is good at training, but it is at the appointed times of classes and formal and informal reviews (when a senior ref watches you the whole game and gives comments afterwards.) I've had two informal reviews - very helpful - (informal because I never formally applied to move up to grade 7. [also, reffing with Jim Sadowski is very helpful.]
The ref in our last game approached me right after the final whistle. It was awkward for me because he still has the power to right me up and all I wanted to do at the time was yell and scream :)
So I just had to walk away. I'm glad you, Pete, had a chance to talk to him civilly afterwards.
Basically, I think it should be left as a mistake that linesman should learn from. He didn't have good positioning and that is one of the most important things when running the line.
i am listening to you guys and thinking of contacting Carm. I'm still on the fence, however, for the reasons nate(?) cited below. it sounds like whining and it only serves to raise the Goleros profile among refs, which is not a good thing - and i don't want anyone on our team playing with the refs "in their head."
ReplyDeleteif i send something in, it would just be to ensure that line judges understand the rule.
Sooner rather than later. You either deal with these things now or let them slide because the referee isn't going to remember as well the incident two weeks from now.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, you can phrase it without whining. Say the three certified refs on the team felt it was a point of instruction, a reminder to all officials. But whatever, at this point we can only hope to get more competent ARs on future matches.