Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League
Team spirit is driving Penistone Church Reserves on according to joint manager John Whitehead.
New-look Penistone have won three out of three in the Premier Division and are full of confidence ahead of this weekend’s home clash with Hepworth United.
“I think we have a very strong start to the season,” Whitehead told Non League Yorkshire.
“I think the lads have definitely took on board what we have tried to instil in them during pre-season.
“Not only that, the group of people in that changing room will stick together no matter what and will grind a result out.
“We got a last minute winner against North Gawber the week before.
“They had the tenacity and aggression to go 1-0 up against Stocksbridge.
“Unfortunately that game got abandoned.
“We have a real togetherness now and people are really work hard for each other and it is bearing fruits.
“I think it is something that the lads need to stick with because it will get us extra points towards the end of the season.”
Whitehead has previously said that Penistone want to challenge for a top five spot and he agrees that the early sign suggest a push is in the pipeline.
“It is definitely a great platform,” he said.
“If we’re still in a good position at Christmas we’ll definitely be in a strong fight for the top five places at the end of the season.”
What Whitehead is concerned about is the nationwide referee shortage which appears to have gone from an oncoming storm to nearly a full-blown crisis for the FA.
The Toolstation NCEL are struggling to appoint officials so the County Senior League is right in the firing line for issues.
Because of the shambolic way the Sheffield FA handled the first round draws of their cup competitions – i.e. four days notice – it meant a whole week’s worth of Premier Division fixtures, bar one, were postponed due to a lack of referees back in mid-September.
Last week, most games were manned by one official rather the expected three and Whitehead foresees danger ahead for the campaign.
“The referee rocked up 20 minutes (at Stocksbridge last Saturday) before kick off and I questioned ‘where are the linesmen’?,” he said.
“The answer was ‘oh we haven’t got them today’.
“There was a couple of decisions that both benches should have been given.
“Their ‘keeper coming out of the box, didn’t give it.
“A possible penalty decision, didn’t give it.
“The referee was saying ‘I can’t see them, I need a linesman’.
“Especially in a game like that, if you miss something, things can flare up in an instant.
“You need three officials (at this level).
“They need all the help they can get and there’s definitely a shortage (of referees) but I don’t know what (the FA) do about it.
“We’ve had two seasons stopped by the pandemic, you don’t what a season stopped due to the lack of referees.
“If it gets worse games will get called off and unless there is a solution it is going to be a problem right until the end of the season.”