Northampton Town boss Keith Curle was not happy with the referee following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Port Vale.
The Cobblers have been strongly tipped for a good season but are still awaiting their first victory after a frustrating afternoon saw them leave Vale Park with a share of the spoils.
Curle’s post-match analysis focussed on the performance of referee David Rock who he felt offered no protection to his strikers in a physical battle with Vale’s back four.
A robust encounter saw Rock dish out six yellow cards of which only one was given to a Vale player and Curle felt his forwards were on the receiving end of a series of illegal challenges which mostly went unpunished. He told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo: ‘I didn’t think our centre-forward got very well protected.’
‘It was more like a WWF wrestling match with all the high balls.’
‘I spoke to the assistant on the side of the pitch, and he said they were both at it. Well, if they’re both at it, I’ll tell my player it’s OK to do it because at the time he was only reacting.’
‘He was being pulled and pushed first and foremost and then when he whistles he gives a free-kick against him, so I don’t think that evened itself out.’
Curle did admit that new signing Harry Smith could improve how he dealt with physical defenders and promised to work hard on the training ground to make the twenty-four-year-old striker more streetwise.
Our View
Curle is a very experienced manager and knows what happened on Saturday is very much part and parcel of League Two football.
His comments sound like a severe case of sour grapes after a disappointing performance by his side.
Yes, Smith came in for close attention from several Vale defenders but so did Valiants striker Tom Pope at the other end, and it is pretty clear the ref was awful for both sides.
Referees in League Two will always favour the defender in such physical struggles and Curle will have to find a way to combat the tactic because, after summer of new signings, many teams in League Two will be raising their game against the fancied Cobblers.
