Maldon coach cries foul

DILLAN THELWELL, the coach of Maldon High, says a decision by match officials to boycott the school’s football field is affecting his players mentally and costing a lot of money as they are forced to travel for the majority of their home games.

A stone-throwing incident during a Zone A match against leaders Cornwall College a few weeks ago has made referees wary of officiating at matches held at Maldon.

According to Thelwell, during a home game against Cornwall, Maldon were down 1-0 and the game was called off in the final 10 minutes because of the stone-throwing incident. Since then, their last four home games have been played at other venues.

“It is the referees, not ISSA, that have an issue with our field. They say they are not comfortable coming here. I don’t support any violence against any referee or players against players. However, how long are they going to take to investigate the incident? I understand their stance but we need to put the proper measures (security) in place so we can continue using our home field, ” Thelwell told The Gleaner.

“Sometimes they give us some assurance that they will come but then they don’t show up. Even the match on Thursday at Irwin High they changed their minds about coming to Maldon,” he added.

Despite the challenges, Maldon are second in the zone, with 12 points. They are ahead of Green Pond High, who also have 12 points, on goal difference.

Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Ewan Scott, competitions director of ISSA, said they have discussed the issue with the referees group in St James and they (referees) insist that certain requirements have to be in place before they feel comfortable officiating in games at Maldon.

“The referees have indicated that recently a colleague was hit and had to be taken to the hospital. The referees say they have to send a signal and hopefully the spectators’ behaviour at Maldon will improve,” Scott said.

Thelwell stated that the school has no old students association to give assistance and getting a bus to transport the players comes at a high cost.

“It is putting a strain on the players mentally and the school also, to find another field. In my opinion the referees are running things and nothing can go so. We have no recovery time like other schools that we can relax and refocus during home games. We have to travel an hour or 45 minutes to and from games,” Thelwell said.

In today’s game with bottom team St James High at 3:30 p.m. at the Granville Community Centre in St, James, Thelwell said he is hoping for the best with half of the team injured.

“I am not sure what will happen today. It is a thin squad. We did ice baths, light training and team talk. There is not much preparation you can do, especially after playing a hard game on Thursday. We just have to do our best to get them partially recovered for today,” the Maldon coach said.