Referee: BEN ATKINSON
Assistants: Darren Williams and Anthony Da Costa
Fourth Official: Stephen Wade
Tomorrow sees the visit of Cheltenham Town, a side that has not won at the Bank since 2011. What a horrible day that was – Ben Hutchinson, Tom Kilbey, Drewe Broughton and Ali Fuseini all appeared for us that day. You know it’s bad when you list the worst players on the field, and despite playing, Elliot Parish isn’t one of them.
Our referee is a newbie to the Football League – one of eight promoted in the summer. Ben Atkinson will be taking part in his most high-profile game so far, having only officiated in League Two this season. He’s a dental surgeon in his ‘real’ life, so let’s hope his performance isn’t akin to pulling teeth!
He’s had seven matches so far, six in League Two and one in the EFL Trophy. He’s flashed a few reds – three for away teams, including one for Mansfield on the opening day and two Orient players in their game against Gillingham in the Trophy.
Interestingly, he has officiated the most League Two games (six) and is 28/39 for fouls awarded per game, making him appear a little more lenient than some. He’s 32 out of 39 for fouls per tackle as well, so despite the cards, he does seem to like to let the game flow. A word of warning – he’s 17/39 for yellow cards, meaning a tendency to be a little stricter in his punishment of fouls when he deems one to have been committed.
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