Cheadle Town 1-2 Nelson

And we thought the referees in the Premiership were bad...anyway, more about the man-in-black in a bit. CTFC took a well-deserved lead after a superbly-taken and superbly-celebrated goal from Dean Martin and looked good value for their lead after dominating the early play. Then the referee made sure that the roof caved in on Cheadle's day.

A foul that was so obviously committed outside the area on a Nelson forward suddenly turned into a penalty kick (that was converted); the teams going into the half-time break at 1-1.

In the second half, the referee-inspired comedy reached Python-esque levels. Martin Lindon received a slap in the face that was missed by the linesman ("I didn't see it - I was looking up and down my line" - hilarious!) which was then followed by a booking for a CTFC player because he refused to tell the referee which CTFCer had called him "a penis" behind his back! [step forward CTFC goalie Troy Whittle]. Park Road had become a primary school playground for the day.

By this time CTFC were 2-1 down after Troy had a "David James moment" and chasing a game they didn't deserve to be losing. Thanks to the referee's preference of holding lengthy discussions with the players there was quite a bit of stoppage time added on, during which two rasping drives were sent just wide of the Nelson posts as CTFC searched for the equaliser.

These two meet again on Wednesday night as the return league fixture is played out and CTFC's season comes to an end. I just might sod the UEFA Cup Final and find myself travelling up the M66....