Search for
Search for
Search forFootball: Leek vow to blow whistle on match official
Friday, November 14, 2008, 09:00
Leek felt they were on the wrong end of several contentious decisions – including a 39th-minute penalty award. Andy Taylor's tackle on Ryan Hindley had appeared clean. But the referee saw an infringement and Lee Stevenson made no mistake from the spot.
Just after the break, Blues had further protests waived away when Belper scored a contentious third. Leek keeper Richard Froggatt attempted to shepherd the ball out of play. However, the keeper fell to the floor following contact with Belper's Lee Stevenson. And Stevenson then flicked the ball to Anthony Wilson, who headed into an empty net.
Despite the lengthy protests, the goal was allowed to stand and Leek were left to bemoan another major decision which went against them. The strike had put Belper 3-0 up after Stevenson's sixth-minute opener.
However, Blues managed to pull a goal back on 63 minutes thanks to a superb strike from substitute Ben Mills. The forward turned his marker inside the box before beating the keeper from 15 yards.
Ten minutes later, Josh Thompson almost pulled another one back for Leek, but the Belper keeper somehow recovered to hook the ball off the line. With Leek threatening to give Belper an uncomfortable final quarter, the referee intervened again with another crucial decision.
Once again, Belper's Stevenson was at the centre of things.
Player-manager Wayne Johnson thought he had cleanly won the ball from Stevenson on 79 minutes. But the match official viewed the decision in a different light and pointed to the spot – which left Stevenson to complete his hat-trick.
LEEK: Froggatt, P Johnson, McMann, Taylor, W Johnson, M Johnson, Brannan, Miller, Thompson, Corden, Edwards.
Subs: Mills, Ashman, Heath, Robinson.
Attendance: 164.
Comment on this story