We are on a mission...myself, Harry Hutchings (Southern area Ref Sec) and Roger Brown (Referee) have been working closely together to extend our ref numbers with reasonable success.......Ref societies and Sunday league colleagues have been forthcoming but our main program is just about to start.

The AFC have negotiated a referee course reduction with the AFA & we have secured funding from the Executive Committee to be able to organise and run a Referee Training Course for the reduced price of £100 per candidate. This course (run by the AFA) will be open to AFC clubs only, as many of you have non qualified club refs or players, who will interested in adding something back to the league as a referee.

The AFC Executive Committee will refund £50 to the payee once they have :-

Successfully completed of the referees training.

refereed the mandatory six games as part of the referees course

Joined the AFC Referees panel thereby committing to refereeing on the AFC as part of our referees panel (refereeing at least 10 games in 18/19).

In essence you get to become a qualified referee for just £50, a saving of between £80 or £100 with other counties current rates. The course will be held at Old Suttonians FC on two consecutive Saturdays with classroom and field work over both days. In addition there will be one evening in between the two Saturday's. Once we have the numbers we can arrange the dates for the course.

SO WHAT NOW:-

We require at least 10 but preferably 20 candidates to put their names forward to undertake this excellent initiative. Our aim is to have all fixtures in the AFC covered with qualified referees in 2018/19, we can only achieve this with your help. So I am asking you as Club Secretaries to send this email to all club members & referees, plus anyone else you feel may be interested within the club. I am asking that all those wishing to partake, to just email me with their name, email address and club please. Obviously we can arrange more courses if numbers dictate. Once we have the required numbers I will secure the booking, ask for the payment to register the individual on the course.

Please help us to help you!!
Email: coxa.football@gmail.com
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"I can barely type...my hands are so cold". Said everyone who played this game today.

Welcome to the bumper edition of match report. Why bumper you ask?? Well....lots of sh¢t happeneded.

Start at the start is always be best bet. It was fucking cold and guess what...yes...it started raining too. That shitty ice cold rain...you know the type...the one that makes you cold and wet.

Civil Service was the game....winning was their aim. And boy did they want to win. In my short coxa career I dont think we have been played off the park as much as they did today.

That being said...half time was only 1-0. We were clinging in there. The first half wasn't with out some controversy.

Markus got fouled by what I can describe as one of the worst tackles I have ever seen in football. Both feet off the ground, studs...all that shit. Only to get a yellow...and Welcome to my Richard Smiths gaffe of the day. The winner of this new award is by far the hard man of the COXA team....the rebel...the man who won't always start a fight....but will end it. The man who got booked for the foul on Markus for he claims asking the ref 'why was that not a red ref?'....although in true Adam Sandler, anger management film (dont bother watching it....you remember my opinions on Adam Sandler films), it was more like a tirade of four letter expletives. Seriously though....it wasnt. He just asked and the ref booked him...so we had to retake the freekick 4 times. Count it....4!!! Oh yes....the rsgotw award goes to Smiddy Sr...for the best yellow card I have seen in a while. Top work!

As I had mentioned earlier, we would have taken 1-0 at half time. We probably wouldn't want 2-0....but that happened from a bullet header.

Cue the dramatic music...Cue the pouring rain...Cue the emotional but also motivational speech played over the top of the music. Because ladies and gents (although I dont know any ladies that read this. If you do....good on you for showing in an interest in your boyfriend/husband/brothers past time. Holla.) Here starts the comeback.

Next thing to happen....Critchlow with a few flying saves. One going top corner...the other a rocket header. Strong mitts to keep the goal safe. Next....Tommy drys the ball with his shirt, runs up for a long throw in....James beats everyone, rises highest and BOOM!!! 2-1. Take that binmen/taxmen and council workers.

Its also a fun time to mention that we killed the pitch. It turned from a lovely pitch to a bog....lol

So...come back kids. That was us. Still taking a chance at the back...but doing it right and we were rewarded with an Alex Turner thunderbosh! He hit it in the top top secret bins...that not many other people know about. 2-2.

Fortunately for the servants of the queen the final whistle blew with Clapham in the ascendancy.

2-2 and on to extra time we go. But before I do...its that time of the week again. The Jamie Buckerfield moment of the week. Now, there are some great candidates today, but the winner has to be Jay Buckerfield. Only this man...this man can be substituted and NOT substituted at the same time. But still manage to walk off the pitch going...yeah...sub...yep... And even when we are shouting his name, he still...STILL doesn't realise. He gets halfway round...until he realises he isn't coming off. Comes back on...then 30 seconds later clears the ball off the line.

For those that thought this was going to be a fairytale...WRONG.

A deflected shot put the ball just out of the keepers reach and made it 3-2.

4-2 came after a break away.

*side bar...I'm now drunk.*

They did a goal. It was annoying because we wanted to do a goal.

Clapham put lots of pressure on the servants but came to nothing. Special mention again to the keeper who did a save in the oppo half, after coming up for a corner, chasing back and doing a mega slide. Top bants.

The rest was a cold blurry mess. So...if anyone can fill in any blanks...that would be nice.

Crunk.

Peace.

MOTM Chris Cole