BIZZARE DECISIONS COST PINE CUP GLORY !!!!
Engineers 6 Falcon Pine 2 ( League Cup Quarter Final ) h-t 1-1
Falcon Pine were left seething at the way they crashed out of the cup away to 2nd division Engineers, despite
themselves playing some fantastic passing football throughout the 1st half.
Falcon went ahead after around 15 minutes following a sublime passing move, culminating in Probets squaring for
goal machine Crossley to pass the ball into the empty net.
Soon after, Crossley was through on goal only to suffer a rash foul and despite being in the box the ref decided
to award a free kick on the edge and to hand out just a yellow card although the Engine player was clearly the last man.
Falcon continued to play their trademark slick football, but against the run of play they were inexplicably to
suffer a huge setback when Engine were awarded a penalty for what seemed to everybody to be for no reason whatsoever. Anthony
Moss converting with ease to hand his side a lifeline.
Pine were to push hard as they played down the slope and have the majority of the play but could not convert
any of their numerous chances, with Wayne Crossley being the main culprit as he squandered an almost open goal by opting to
shoot before he took an extra touch.
Honours even at the break and again Falcon took the game to their lower league opponents, but after 20 minutes
of the 2nd half the game was to become farcical as a series of refereeing blunders were to cost Falcon dearly. Pine player
manager Bob Bartle had this to say -
`Refs have a very hard job and we all know their is a ref shortage and so i wouldn`t
want to have a go at a ref for the sake of it.......but after the blow of a nothing penalty and their man not getting a red
card, then in the 2nd half to see a goal scored by Engine after it was a clear foot over the deadball line before it
was crossed in is hard to take`
`Then for the 3rd Engine goal to be scored which was at least a yard offside it made
a complete mockery of the effort we had put into the game for around an hour. Basically from controlling the game at 1-0 and
playing very good attractive football we have had our chance of reaching a cup semi final taken away from us.`
`It`s Sunday League football and maybe officials don`t think we take it seriously but
we put a lot of effort into trying to play good football and all we ask for in return is correct decisions as often as possible.
The game developed into a shambles, the last goal was a car length offside and although we eventually was awarded a
late penalty we should have had 2 others earlier when it mattered !`
`It might sound like sour grapes but it seems to happen time and time again to our club
and its about time we had the rub of the green`
`All the best to Engine, they got the luck and we didn`t but to see a 6-2 scoreline is
hard to accept and totally unjustified`
Engine`s dubious 2nd goal was scored by Lee Thomas, and the others scored by John Batley, Adam Barlow a low drive
by Mike Jordan before Thomas added a second and a consolation by Crossley as he converted a penalty for Pine.
