ASK anyone what happened at Holker Street on Saturday, and the first thing they will talk about is referee Martin Coy.
It should never be the case that you leave a game debating the role of the man in the middle, rather than extolling the virtues of your players – Alex-Ray was again in impressive in the middle of the park, Richie Bennett scored his fourth in as many games – or bemoaning their shortcomings – the defending from set-pieces was well short of their standards.
Yet supporters of Barrow AFC and Forest Green Rovers will have spoken of little else as they drifted away from the stadium, despite a five-goal thriller, a late decider and a fine battle between two teams at the top of the National League.
Mr Coy had a stinker. Pure and simple.
His constant use of the whistle destroyed any hopes of the game developing a flow – awarding free-kicks for the slightest of touches and making some of the most bizarre decisions any official has ever made.
From awarding Rovers keeper Sam Russell two free-kick when he has run off his line and punched first his own players and then Akil Wright when going for the ball, to booking Ross Hannah when Charlie Cooper pushed his head into that of the AFC striker, it was not a day he will want to remember.
There were nine yellow cards spread over the 90 minutes – some more deserved that other – and 37 free-kicks, not what anyone wants to see.
Mr Coy was played by some intelligent, experienced Forest Green players as he bought anything and everything they were selling – though Barrow too benefited on occasion from his baffling antics.
He was out of his depth and not worthy of a game between the sides lying second and fifth in the National League. Let us hope we never see him again.
Mr Coy’s miserable day overshadowed what was a competitive encounter decided four minutes into stoppage time by Manny Monthe’s winning header.
Only six minutes before, Hannah looked to have saved a point for the home side when he followed up a saved penalty – contentiously awarded, it will come as no surprise – by putting home the rebound.
That followed Liam Noble’s fine early opener, Richie Bennett’s deserved leveller and Christian Doidge’s second for the visitors which had seemed the winner entering the final stages.
Enough events there to fill any normal match conversation had it not been for Mr Coy.
He played a part in the Rovers opener on six minutes as he punished Alex-Ray Harvey for lightly brushing against Cooper outside the area, who went down like a stack of cards.
There was nothing contentious about Noble’s finish, as he curled the ball up and over the wall and beyond the dive of Jon Flatt, who gave himself too much ground to make up and saw the ball fly past his hands into the net.
A changed Barrow side – with Bennett along up front and five men across midfield in the absence of both Byron Harrison and Jordan Williams – was struggling to find their feet in a new formation, though Rovers had little to offer themselves.
The Bluebirds had a chance when Paul Turnbull lofted a free-kick over the defence, but Russell came out, ran into his own men and earned a free-kick before the home side could do anything.
Bennett could have been away from a poor pass from a Rovers defender, only Alex-Ray Harvey was punished for a tackle no-one saw.
Bennett was too often alone up front and having to head down when there was no-one in support, though he did play a role after Harvey was punished for a foul and everyone on the pitch except Flatt came together.
Harvey was booked, as were Danny Livesey and Mark Ellis for the fracas that followed, with Mr Coy rapidly losing control.
A Nick Anderton cross was just over the head of Diarra before Anderton found Livesey wide on the right and his cross was perfect for Akil Wright 18 yards out, who hit it on the volley but saw his effort bang into the hoardings just to the right of the goal.
A leveller came as Shaun Beeley was fouled by Dan Wishart and Harvey delivered a ball which Bennett flicked on at the near post through a crowd and into the back of the net.
Beeley made a crucial interception to take the ball from the feet of Noble as he waited to fire home a cross, Bennett shot wide from 20 yards having made a good run, before he was booked for a slight foul in the Rovers half.
Kaiyne Woolery almost put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half-time as he beat Flatt to the ball at the edge of the area, but he lofted high and wide.
Into the second half and Mr Coy did not improve.
Russell came out a long way to try and punch away an Anderton cross, but took out Wright while doing so. The ball looped away dangerously, but the referee had already given a foul against the pole-axed Barrow man.
Wishart had a shot deflected wide after bamboozling Beeley with a winding run, Flatt only half-palmed the corner away and Noble’s follow-up shot was redirected just wide by Livesey.
There was entertainment between the constant blowing of the whistle, as when a free-kick against Liam Hughes resulting in Noble floating in the ball from the right and Doidge dived at full stretch close to the ground to head home from a yard out.
Diarra adjudged to have headed a corner just over at the other end – though it looked as though Doidge was the man who had done so – and Wright blazed wide from the corner of the area.
A foul on Bennett a yard from the area resulted in a fine AFC chance, as sub Andy Haworth stepped up and curled in an effort, but Russell dived across and punched the shot clear. The ball came back in and to the feet of Bennett, who felt he was dispossessed as it went wide, but a goal-kick was given.
Barrow were then awarded their penalty as Cooper was seen to have taken down Diarra with a swinging leg. It looked questionable at best.
Hannah waited an age to take the kick as Noble walked up and prevented him from doing so. Dan Rowe took exception to the tactics and went to give him a push, which sent him sprawling to the floor.
Where was Mr Coy? Over by the hallway line, dealing with something more important.
His linesman was watching, though, and both Noble and Rowe saw yellow.
Hannah was still stood juggling the ball, trying to stay focused, though it was no surprise when his spot-kick, low and without great power to Russell’s right, was save. The striker kept his nerve and followed up to touch home the round.
With less than two minutes on the clock, it was all-square once again.
Soon after, Bennett ran superbly into the area on the left and the ball came to Harvey. He played it to the feet of Haworth, six yards out, but he could not get power on his shot on the turn and it was an easy save.
Deep into injury-time, it seemed as though the game was done, but the giant figure of Monthe had the final say, heading home from the near post – a third goal conceded from a set-piece on the day for AFC and something for Paul Cox to think about.
There was plenty for Mr Coy to think about too. Well over an hour after the game was finished he was still in with the referee’s assessor. He, for one, will have expected to be talking about the official after the game. No-one else had.
Barrow AFC (4-5-1): Jon Flatt, Shaun Beeley, Nick Anderton, Danny Livesey, Moussa Diarra, Akil Wright (Andy Haworth 80), Alex-Ray Harvey, Paul Turnbull (Ross Hannah 72), Dan Rowe, Richie Bennett, Liam Hughes (Lindon Meikle 72).
Substitutes Not Used: Harry Panayiotou, Myles Anderson.
Yellow Cards: Harvey (22), Livesey (23), Bennett (43), Hannah (75), Rowe (88).
Forest Green Rovers (4-1-4-1): Sam Russell, Dale Bennett, Dan Wishart (Keanu Marsh-Brown 90), Mark Ellis, Ethan Pinnock, Rob Sinclair, Liam Noble, Charlie Cooper (Sam Wedgbury 90), Kaiyne Woolery, Jake Gosling (Manny Monthe 66), Christian Doidge.
Substitutes Not Used: Darren Carter, Fabien Robert.
Yellow Cards: Ellis (23), Cooper (76), Wishart (85), Noble (88).
Referee: Martin Coy (Durham).
Attendance: 1,422.
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