Scunthorpe United A-A Buxton

Scunthorpe United A-A Buxton

National League North

Saturday 9th September 2023

‘Sunny Scunny’ and a game involving Buxton being abandoned due to water!

You’ll get all those jokes on the back of this game but where do I even begin in trying to articulate just how mad, bizarre and utterly bonkers this one was - other than saying in my 20 years watching football on a regular basis, I’ve seen anything quite like it!

A game abandoned in the 95th minute; halfway through 10 minutes of injury-time, due to a waterlogged pitch - and a referee who’d lost the plot a long time before the end was even close!

Referee James Bancroft was the man at the centre of the controversy and it’s no surprise that he’s being slaughtered on social media right now. God knows what he was thinking in the hour or two he spent in his dressing room afterwards as he tried to comprehend what had just happened - along with everyone else because it was bewildering beyond belief.

It’s difficult to say Mr Bancroft lost control of this game because it’s hard to make a case for him ever having control in the first place and for large parts it was The James Bancroft Show. So it’s no surprise in some ways he brought it to an end with a spectacular crescendo! That’s how bad he was. Missing blatant elbows yet booking Dion Semble-Ferris in the closing minutes for dropping mud on top of the ball before an opposition throw was a sign of his inconsistency, he seemed to panic in dealing with every incident, there was lots of ‘needle’ throughout the game - it wasn’t an easy game to handle (I will give him that), but he didn’t help himself by wanting to be the centre of attention and making a mockery of things.

In fairness to Mr Bancroft, his big decision to stop the game (despite the timing) was the correct decision. Just seconds before he did so, Max Kouogun, in trying to float the ball down the field couldn’t kick it more than a few yards - instead the only floating happening was water bottles in the dugout area and it was blatantly obvious the game couldn’t continue. Had he ‘paused’ it - as is what happened at Scotland-Georgia a few months ago, allowed 15 minutes for the rain to pass and then re-assessed the situation (and bought himself some thinking time), then he’d have got away with it as not long after the players trudged off, the rain duly stopped, the sun came out and miraculously the pitch was actually playable again by 5.30pm.

But hindsight is a wonderful thing and when Danny Elliott was trying to take his penalty in the second-minute of injury-time as conditions were getting worse, nobody was thinking that conditions would magically improve to the extent they did.

There’s the argument of should he have blown earlier - and that’s a valid point, and one of the biggest ironies in the abandonment is that if Buxton hadn’t been purposely running the clock down and time-wasting throughout the second half when they were hanging on with 10 men (best example being when Jake Wright took three minutes to come off when he was substituted), there wouldn’t even have been 10 minutes of injury-time anyway.

What didn’t help is that Buxton’s players were clearly under the impression the result would stand when the referee blew the whistle - that could have only come from him too, and it led to them celebrating emphatically infront of the 100 or so visiting fans before an announcement came over the PA System a few minutes later that confirmed the game had, infact, been abandoned. 

The referee’s communication wasn’t clear whatsoever (it shouldn’t come as a surprise given how bad he was during the rest of the game) and the reality now is the National League and The FA will get involved in trying to decide what happens next - and it’s going to get very messy!

Will it be a full-match replay? Will the result stand? Who knows? But one club is going to be upset whatever happens, this is going to rumble on for a while - there will be an appeal against any decision is made, and if there’s just one or two more games between these teams this season, there’ll be plenty of needle involved and ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’ ought to be used as a song for some top class shithousery to rattle and irritate the other team.

There’s no real precedent for this situation either.

The latest I ever recall a game being abandoned in England was a Step 3 game between Didcot Town and Hereford in the Southern League in 2017 - that was canned after Hereford equalised in the 88th minute (definitely before the 90-minute mark anyway) and their fans spilled onto the pitch which led to the referee citing ‘safety concerns’  and, after a lot of arguments, disagreements, to-ing and fro-ing, the fixture was replayed in full a few weeks later. 

Does it make a difference that this Scunthorpe-Buxton game went beyond the 90 minutes - even though the reason there was so much added time was down to Buxton’s time-wasting? Who knows?

The only thing for certain to emerge from this game is that cards picked up will stand and therefore Connor Brown has a three-game ban to serve for kicking out at Danny Whitehall (violent conduct) just before half-time, whilst Kian Scales is still going to be out for the next three games as he serves his own suspension.

And amidst all the drama, chaos, confusion and bizarre and farcical scenes, you can guarantee people will still be talking about this day for years to come and recollections; the weather, the crap referee (could well be the worst I’ve ever seen in my 1,800 games), the monsoon, the utterly bewildering finish and everything else, will go down in football folklore.

And even more bizarrely, it didn’t even rain a few miles down the road throughout the whole afternoon in other parts of Scunthorpe! And it was the hottest day in the UK this year!

Given all that controversy and drama which will dominate the headlines, it’s easy to forget there was actually a football game played...

It was boiling hot for 45 minutes. Drinks breaks were needed in both halves, before a ball was kicked I was feeling sorry for Scunny Bunny in that costume, and Buxton put in a resilient performance defensively (Luke Shiels being immense in a few instances) to reach the point where they were tantalisingly close to victory.

It was good to see some familiar faces on both teams (and I tell you what… I definitely know how to pick my games) including Fin Shrimpton (done so well to get to 21 and now be an established player for his hometown team who is fast-approaching 100 career appearances), Cam Wilson (probably the liveliest player in Scunny’s team; quick, nimble, a constant threat, good with his first touch, so much ability when he’s got the ball at his feet and a player I’ve rated highly for absolutely ages - less said about the over-hit pass to Fin in the first half the better though), Connor Smith (last time I saw him he scored a hat-trick in Hearts B Team’s first ever game in the Lowland League), plus quite a few others who didn’t feature who’ve played in the North-East Youth Alliance in years gone by. They include Jason Law (two-time title winner in his YT days), Kian Scales (good player in a good Bradford team back in the day), Andrew Boyce (very long time ago but what a career after being let go by Donny) and then Buxton’s lot; Sam Osborne (gutted I couldn’t watch him as he’s wearing a moon boot after getting injured last week but I will get round to it this season), Max Hunt (back up North after his Yeovil stint and he’ll be praying more than anyone that the result stands as he’ll want the credit for scoring a late winner - good header), Jake Hull (on loan from Rotherham and a rock at the back; learning so much and I was at the game where he scored his first professional goal nearly two years ago to the day) and then the lads who were previously at Boston United who Craig Elliott has now taken to Derbyshire.

There’s probably a few more others who I’ve missed but, in the cut, thrust and 300mph intensity of the National League North, it was definitely my type of game to watch…

In the searing heat - because it was uncomfortably warm early on, Cam Wilson went close to an early opener with a shot that required fingertips from Max Dearnley to turn it over the bar and having joked with him before the game that I wanted to see him bag a goal, he very obliged.

Not too much else happened early doors but the first sign the referee didn’t have control came around the midway point in the first half when Reagan Ogle was involved in a tussle on the floor with a Buxton player. It led to the usual ‘argy-bargy’ where a situation developed and others piled in and with that ‘needle’ existing between the two teams, Cam Wilson was soon on the couple of heavy tackles - one where Luke Shiels used all his body weight to barge into him on the halfway line and another where he was wiped out at knee-height as he threatened to break down the left and was just too quick/nimble for Shiels. A yellow card followed, quite rightly as it was in the ‘orange’ territory, but the fact Cam Wilson got up and was able to continue (and still be quite effective in the game) is proof that he can handle the roughness and readiness of this level. Even if he does occasionally take a touch too many (the one slight criticism I’d have of him) he’s a quality player who I love watching and he’ll only get better and better and better as his career goes on.

If you’re dropping puns in, you could see tempers were starting to boil in the red shot sunshine - Mr Bancroft had already earned a few chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ and when a few plastic bottles came onto the pitch from the terrace (which shouldn’t be happening and the culprits need identifying), the referee was at pains to make himself the centre of attention as he ran with each bottle towards the dugout area where presumably he was talking to the Chief Steward and letting him know what action he should take.

Then came Buxton’s penalty out of nowhere.

A cross into the box from the visitors’ right-hand side seemed innocuous at first but the linesman was flagging straight away; he’d spotted something and spoke to the referee. It was difficult to know exactly what was going on or what he’d seen - plus at the same time, there was a medical emergency directly behind the goal which further-delayed things for a couple of minutes (and I hope the bloke who needed treatment is okay and recovering well) but when play did resume, Fin Shrimpton was penalised for something and shown a yellow card as apparently he’d thrown a Buxton player to the floor, there was a penalty for Ross Fitzsimons to face, and although Fitzsimons saved Jake Wright’s spot-kick, Scunny weren’t able to whack the rebound from the loose ball downfield, it was recycled across goal and Xander McBurnie eventually stabbed it into the empty net.

1-0 to Buxton; cheers from the penalty save to deflation at conceding the opener in the space of only a few seconds… it was one of those!

That wasn’t quite the end of the first half action though because in six added minutes (probably should have been more - and about eight got played in the end), Connor Brown stupidly kicked out at Danny Whitehall despite having won a free-kick in the corner just infront of the away end and nearest to the goal which Scunny were attacking. The linesman spotted it, flagged, and Brown was given a straight red card for his petulance. Buxton’s ‘keeper Max Dearnley (I think) was booked in the aftermath for his protests, and Jake Wright (the Bucks No.7) was clearly rattled - possibly dwelling on his penalty miss, as he started chirping back towards fans sat behind the dugout, then tried to leave a bit on Fin Shrimpton when the ball was in the air and sent downfield from the restart straight after the red card.

Even as Brown walked off the pitch there were signs of shithousery at play as he walked straight through the crowd of Scunny players who’d gathered just infront of the dugout to get some drinks onboard - and on the subject of shithousery, Danny Whitehall did one of the best examples of it I’ve EVER seen by emptying the Buxton ‘keepers water bottle at every opportunity (including the replacement bottles too). Not what you want in red hot temperatures on the hottest day of the year… but utterly phenomenal levels from him at the same time!

After Scunny wasted a free-kick on the edge of the box right before the half-time whistle (won, of course, after some good work by Cam Wilson) in an instance where they just needed to whack a ball straight into the box rather than playing it around on the floor, when the teams emerged at 4.10pm for the start of the second half, the sunshine had gone, Glanford Park was in the shade and a storm was brewing…

Scunny got the ball down and pressed for an equaliser; Danny Elliott (I think) curled one over after Fin Shrimpton’s good pass along the floor found him and gave him the chance to try something, Will Evans also went close with a rasping 35-yard pile-driver that the Buxton ‘keeper kind of fumbled and kept out in an unorthodox way and the intensity was building. Buxton, a man down remember, and with Max Hunt on for Eoin McKeown at half-time in a tactical change aimed at making them even more resilient, were just being penned into their own box and after Jake Wright (Buxton’s No.7) FINALLY got a yellow card that had been coming for about 20 minutes, it wasn’t a surprise whatsoever when he was quickly substituted and replaced by Jordan Burrow - definitely a ‘sub him off before he gets sent off’ type change. 

With this referee you wouldn’t have bet against more drama anyway - and soon enough he was picking up another bottle and running to give it to the Chief Steward along with some instructions, and a sign of Buxton’s time-wasting was evident as Jake Wright needed treatment before coming off and then very gingerly, slowly and purposely walked all the way from the far side of the penalty box towards the dugout area (not leaving the pitch by the nearest touchline as per the rules) and it must have taken a good 2-3 minutes. Good shithousery although with Mr Bancroft’s erratic officiating he was towing a very fine line indeed.

Soon afterwards, Fin Shrimpton was also replaced as he was treading the same fine line of being on a yellow card… and it wasn’t bad timing because he didn’t get wet, nor did Connor Smith who’d gone off a few minutes earlier, then came the rain which just got heavier and heavier!

Scunny were still searching for an equaliser in the pouring rain as conditions became difficult; Jack Jenkins slid a ball across the face of goal where a sliding Danny Whitehall missed it only by a few inches, and Buxton continued to defend doggedly. Balls into the box were headed away, there was a toughness, a resolute undertone and a resilience about them and it seemed they might hold on - especially when Whitehall was wrestled to the ground inside the box and the referee just waved ‘play on’ in another situation which just drew more ire.

Low and behold though, the Bucks couldn’t hold out because on 81 minutes, Scunny bagged an equaliser which again had more than a shade of controversy about it. This time, a long ball (didn’t see by who) was played towards the back-post - and was it a foul on the keeper or did he drop it? Who knows? I’d have to see the replay again because being sat 50 yards away my view wasn’t the best, but in any case, Richie Bennett ended up getting some connection on the ball before it seemed to trickle along the ground and into the empty net in slow-motion as Glanford Park exploded into noise.

That joy was short-lived because straight away, Buxton won a corner up at the other end infront of their own fans. Scunny’s marking at the set-piece left loads to be desired; Connor Kirby’s corner was inch-perfect and found Max Hunt who was unmarked and stooped to make a powerful connection to send the ball into the back of the net before flying away for an adrenaline-fueled celebration infront of the away fans, thinking he might have just scored what could be a match-winner. Fist-pumps. Passion. Adrenaline. A shock seemed possible again!

Oh but what was to come…

Between the equaliser and Buxton’s second goal, the rain intensified even more to the extent where visibility was horrendous (just have a look at the photos and compare them to the ones at kick-off) and I certainly can’t have been alone in beginning to think whether the game would actually finish as water was starting to splash up off the surface for good measure.

The proverbial kitchen sink was being emptied onto the surface from the skies above as Scuny adopted their own ‘kitchen sink’ approach; hammering shots in, piling forward and giving everything. Jacob Butterfield curled one over and their best chance in the remainder of normal time was when Cam Wilson’s cross was parried, the ball dropped to Richie Bennett on the edge of the box and his pile-driver was goalbound until it was heroically blocked on the goal-line by Luke Shiels.

All eyes were on the referee as 10 minutes of injury-time were indicated and not long after the officials missed a handball inside the box, Mr Bancroft soon awarded a penalty when Danny Elliott was chopped down. It was obvious. The problem by now was the ball was really sticking to the surface and Danny Elliott struggled to even enjoy a proper run up, let alone strike the ball, and his effort was saved by the trailing leg of Max Dearnley before Buxton scrambled away the danger.

This farce couldn’t continue for much longer; it was squishy, squashy - the technical areas were completely flooded (you only need to have a look at the video on Twitter) and after Max Kouogun tried three times to kick the ball downfield from inside his own half, but just end up kicking puddles and splashing about in water, with five minutes of injury-time still left to play, the referee grabbed the ball infront of the dugout, blew his whistle and decided enough was enough.

Cue bedlam!

Buxton clearly thought they’d won and they could have only been told by the referee that the result would stand given how they ran to their fans for some passion-filled celebrations - plus gesticulations to Scunthorpe’s fans as well who were giving them plenty of grief. They just wouldn’t have done that if there’d been any element of doubt about the outcome.

Scunny’s bench were furious as they piled onto the pitch asking for an explanation; rightly pointing out there was still five minutes of added time left to play - and after a few sighs, plenty of perplexed looks of bewilderment and bemusement with everyone wondering what the f**k they’d just witnessed, the announcement then came over the PA system that the game had in fact been abandoned!

I’ve probably missed a load of other things which happened considering just how ridiculously wild this game was - with so much needle and chaos and controversy, but even though all the headlines and discussion will centre around how the game itself ended, the referee left so much to be desired with his performance throughout the contest up to the ‘full-time’ (can you call it that?) whistle and I can’t emphasise enough just how ‘out of his depth’ he looked. He might say he was thrown in at the deep end, plenty of others will say he threw himself in there - it’s a skill to get the ire of both managers but James Bancroft achieved it and I’d love to see the referee’s report from this one!

Along with everyone else who was present, I’ll remember it forever, the game will go down in folklore - and I’m struggling to think of another occasion where a referee has just never had a grip on things, panicked so badly under pressure when the rain came lashing down, and there’s ultimately now a very messy situation for The FA to sort out.

I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes!

And I still can’t believe Dion Semble-Ferris got booked for putting mud on the ball when so much other stuff got missed.

What a very bizarre and bonkers afternoon!