 Referee
Analysis: Phil Dowd West Ham 2-4 NUFC
|
 Tuesday
20 December 2005
By Paul
Mosley
Phil
Dowd from Stoke-on-Trent was in the middle for our visit to West
Ham on Saturday, and produced a highly competent performance. Prior
to this game, Dowd had overseen 7 away wins in 11 games, which made
it clear he would not be influenced by the home support. Here I
will take a look at his involvement and influence on the game throughout
the 90 minutes.
From the off, he made a good start, showing good ability in managing
situations all the way through until the 32nd minute, when the tricky
little Israeli Yossi Benayoun cleverly turned away from Titus Bramble
who was completely suckered into fouling him. For the 1st time in
the afternoon the yellow card came out and Titus could have no complaints.
10 minutes later Dowd spotted a clumsy foul on Ameobi by Fletcher
out on our left, and from the subsequent free-kick Owen headed (well,
shouldered) the ball past Carroll for 2-1. Replays showed that Owen
may have been offside but it was a tight call for the Assistant
Referee. Roy Carroll was shown the 2nd yellow card of the afternoon
for dissent after whinging in the aftermath.
Early in the 2nd half and the yellow card was out again, this time
for Shola Ameobi. Benayoun wriggled towards the Newcastle goal and
was brought down by a typically clumsy and bonkers challenge from
Ameobi on the edge of the ‘D’ (penalty arc), who could have no qualms
at seeing the card shown. For the subsequent free-kick, Dowd made
good use of the Penalty Arc. As you can see below, the penalty arc
is a circle of radius 10 yards (9.15m) away from the penalty spot
itself, and he used this well to ensure the wall was exactly 10
yards back (i.e. level with or just behind the penalty spot):
Graeme Souness expressed his disappointment with Scott Parker, who
got himself cautioned with 72 minutes on the clock for a needless
and late challenge on Carl Fletcher. It was a silly booking to pick
up, his 5th of the season in domestic competition, which means he
will miss the trip to Anfield on Boxing Day. He will be missed there.
More infuriatingly, from the resultant free-kick, Ameobi committed
a ridiculous and needless handball and Dowd correctly pointed to the
spot for the 4th time this season. Harewood converted to leave us
sweating, but one has to question what on earth Ameobi was doing.
Just a minute later Anton Ferdinand went right through the back of
Alan Shearer, and drew the 5th card of the afternoon from Phil Dowd,
and again he could have no complaints (although he did). The final
controversy was right at the end, as a superb Amady Faye ball found
Michael Owen, clearly in an onside position, who completed his hat-trick.
Matthew Etherington whinged too much to the Assistant Referee, who
called Mr Dowd across and requested he caution Etherington, and Dowd
backed up his assistant by doing so, the 6th caution of the game,
none of which could really be contested.
Throughout the game, Dowd did his best to keep the game flowing, playing
some good advantages, and also demonstrating that he was able to wait
for a proper advantage to pan out, and if one didn’t he would pull
play back for the original free kick, which was pleasing to see, as
some referees are all too willing to interrupt the flow of the game.
His foul recognition and decision making were both spot on, and he
was consistent in punishing similar offences from both sides. It was
a very impressive display, one of the best I have seen this season
in a match involving Newcastle, and I hope he will do another of our
games this season.
My rating – 9/10
© Paul Mosley
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