The rage has subsided a little. Not a lot, but a little.
Ten-men Chester were beaten 1-0 at home by Hednesford Town on Saturday afternoon at the Deva Community Stadium after a flood-blooded encounter between two sides who will likely be in the play-off picture late into the National League North campaign.
Calling out the supposed poor performance of referees as a reason for a defeat of the club that you support is low-hanging fruit. They are the easy targets and with every decision that is made somebody in the crowd is going to feel that it is unjust.
But to put it mildly, referee Samuel Bragg had little control of the Blues’ clash against the Pitmen at any point during proceedings, with a host of rash card decisions, late calls and a general inability to effectively manage proceedings.
Dwelling on the performance of the referee is something that is tiresome, frustrating and ultimately futile, but it has been some time since I witnessed a performance of an official that was so impactful as to the nature of the game and the end result.
Let’s have it right. Chester showed naivety in the two major flashpoints of the game.
With 30 seconds remaining of the first half they should have showed more nous to just stifle the visitors, but Nathan Woodthorpe ended up getting isolated and a pinpoint cross onto the head of one of the National League North’s most potent marksmen in Aaron Jarvis meant that the final action of the first half was the restart after the goal.
Ok, so those things happen. But within 30 seconds of the second half restarting, 18-year-old Connor Murphy had to learn a harsh lesson as he was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Liam Kinsella. It wasn’t a rash challenge. It was a 50/50 ball, but Kinsella leapt in the air, squealed and the Pitmen bench made an almighty stink, and Mr Bragg reached for his pocket to show a second yellow.
It was a harsh sending off, but when you give the referee a decision to make in such a moment, expect that they may take a heavy handed approach.
But so soon into the second half, having spent all afternoon pondering decisions for five seconds or so each time, his decision to hand Murphy his marching orders showed little interest in applying a measured approach, effectively killing the contest stone dead within a minute of the second half beginning, creating a domino effect that had a negative impact on the battle-weary Chester bodies that ran themselves into the ground for the remainder of the contest.
This is before we even get to the fact that Jai Curran-Nicholls should have been shown his marching orders shortly after following a grim challenge on the again excellent Sam Foley.
The frustration in the standard of his refereeing was seen by the fury among the home faithful as well as the players themselves, with George Burroughs and Declan Weeks both seeing yellow for remonstrating decisions made by the referee.
But this is nothing new. The standard of refereeing at this level of football needs to be addressed. It’s a tough job, admittedly, and I doff my cap to anyone willing to undertake such a role, but there are livelihoods at stake here, and standards matter.
Referee rant over.
In terms of the action on the pitch, Chester came up against a Hednesford side who look set up to do quite well this season. They are well drilled, have plenty of nous and have some real quality in areas, something aided by the pretty hefty financial backing of the Cannock-based club.
But credit where it is due, they came and did a job and had obviously done their homework. They pressed quickly, isolated key men for the most part and were happy to let Chester see a lot of the ball, but able to break effectively and with purpose.
But for 45+1 minutes of the 45+2 of the first half, 0-0 was a pretty fair reflection But the last action of the half was telling.
Before that, Jefferson Abreu, playing down the middle of a three pronged attack, came closest for the Blues when his close range effort from a Kofi Moore cross was blocked superbly by former Chester defender Jamie Morgan. Woodthorpe will also feel he could have done better 18 yards out with a clear sight of goal, and with Chester breaking quickly, he dragged his effort wide of Will Murdock’s goal.
But Hednesford’s sucker punch before half time punctured the mood at the Deva and made it important that the Blues came out of the traps quickly and with purpose, something that was unable to transpire after Murphy’s hasty exit.
There are ways to lose football matches. You have to stay in the game for as long as you possibly can when numerical advantage counts against you, and Chester did that. Save for a Woodthorpe clearance off the line, the Blues saw much of the possession and showed plenty of grit, heart, endeavour and commitment, the only thing that was really lacking was the quality to make that pay off in the final third.
Sleeves were rolled up, bodies were bruised. Sam Reed, who was exceptional throughout and is quickly showing himself to be operating at a level that is beneath his skill set, had to come off with cramp, while Burroughs suffered similarly at the very end.
Worryingly, Jake Griffin, a colossus for Chester alongside Burroughs this season, limped off late on after writhing in agony after being on the end of a tough challenge, and Blues boss Phil Parkinson was unable to offer any kind of assessment as to the prognosis for the talented defender, although he won’t be playing in the Cheshire Senior Cup against Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night. The hope is he will be fit for next week’s trip to Brackley Town.
Substitutes were made to try and change the attacking potency of the Blues midway through the second half, with Joe Boggan, Connor Woods and Wesley Frimpong all introduced, and Isaac Burgess and Alfie Jones-Mellor were relied upon to replace Reed and Griffin. Ma’kel Campbell was back among the substitutes but had only been part of one training session after his injury and was unlikely to be called upon, showcasing the rather threadbare nature of the Chester side right now.
The Blues plugged away and never threw in the towel, and as mentioned earlier, there are ways to lose a game. If that turns into a game where Hednesford moves through the gears and puts four or five past Chester then the tone of the conversation shifts. But there was appreciation for the fact that the Blues left little out on the pitch, and that the end result was rather cruel given the amount expended.
Reed was relentless, as he often is, but he couldn’t overcome the cramp that arrived towards the end, and Foley demonstrated why at the moment he is one of the first names on the teamsheet. He seldom makes a wrong decision, and while the pace may not be what it was now he is 40, his workrate and application is infectious.
As a result, this saw Hednesford leap into seventh and the Blues drop to ninth. But it didn’t really feel like some kind of missed opportunity, and there wasn’t really too much blame to be apportioned on the Chester side of things. Naivety in certain moments will be a hallmark of a young side, and so it proved to be the case.
The game is done, the anger felt towards officials will subside and we’ll move on. For Parkinson, however, just how battered and bruised his troops are heading into a tough trip to Brackley at the weekend will be a cause for concern right now.
Been going 30+ extra years and that is the most incompetent official I've seen, seething is an understatement, he was shambolic. Disappointed we were on the wrong end of the decision outcome, think they had one shot on target (again), that is football but also Chester. Roll on the next fixture.