90:00 - And there is the final whistle. A draw for Fulham when they really could have easily dropped all three points versus a lesser team. Good game for Anthony Taylor; I thought he did very well through, maybe one or two less cautions, but it could have easily gotten out of hand too, with some of those tasty challenges. The AR also made a great call to take away Dempsey's goal - spot on!
89:00 - And finally a goal for my Cottagers! Andy Johnson is slightly lucky that the ball ended up in the net but it is deserved as Fulham have been the real aggressors in this game.
And on the other end Rodallega is called for a handball, just as he has an attempt on goal. In real time I wasn't sure what the referee was calling but upon replay it was an excellent call. He even got a yellow for it which is quite right as it was clearly an intentional handball. And another caution for Di Santo for dissent towards the AR. Things getting a bit out of hand here as the players would rather jaw at each other than play.
76:00 - Not much happening here, both in the game and with respect to refereeing. Wait, no a goal is called back as Dempsey puts the ball in the net but as he's running away notices the AR with the flag up. The referee immediately runs over to the AR as the AR is getting mobbed by Fulham players. Great call by the AR, especially since he had to be 35 yards away from the handball. Although I would have wanted Fulham to score Dempsey did use his arm to bring the ball down.
And now the referee decides to not call anything with Dempsey going down. Upon replay I have to agree with him - I think Dempsey realized he was in bad shape and decided to just go down since he had been touched a second earlier. Taylor has had a very good game today. Only 9 minutes plus stoppage to go for him.
57:00 - We have our first goal of the game as the Fulham defense completely falls apart. Rodallega produces a perfect touch over the goalkeeper, well weighted and well taken. Game on!
50:00 - And our first big call of the second half as Figeroa take a nasty lunge. Easily a yellow card and the referee is right on it.
45:00 - Our second caution of the day goes to Alcaraz of Wigan. Maybe deserved, but I think it looked worse than it really was. Halftime here at the DW as both teams play pretty squarely in the first half. Not much attacking football and hopefully we will see better come the second half.
36:00 - Oh, and one of a referee's top ten worst nightmare's just happened. Not only did the referee get hit with the ball but square in the noggin'. He was roughly 8-10 yards away and the kick happened fairly quickly. Luckily, it was in the midfield and really didn't affect the game, unlike when I got hit in the butt with the ball from a kick from team A, the ball bounced to team B who proceed to march right down the field and score within 20 seconds of the ball's contact with me. Yeah, probably my most embarrassing moment as a referee.
31:00 - A great chance for Fulham does begging as Duff passes the ball directly at the goalie. A great ball by Dempsey sprang Duff towards the goal all alone, only for Duff to squander the opportunity. A great no-call by the AR as Duff timed his run perfectly.
29:00 - A little bit of confusion here as the referee has whistled for a foul but strangely it was for Fulham, whereas I though Dempsey was the one who committed the foul. Dempsey certainly barged in on the challenge but it goes the other way. No harm done as the ball goes harmlessly out for a goal kick.
25:00 - Finally some controversy! A yellow card is produced for Pantsil. I'm not sure whether it was for the challenge, which was pretty light honestly, or for the reaction of Pantsil. Either way, it might be a harsh caution especially since there has been nothing really to this game in terms of physicality.
Oh! And now a header off the post for Wigan. So close. A very good buildup by Wigan, good passing and an excellent cross. Now it's all going wrong for Fulham as Stockdale, the keeper for Fulham, drops a cross and almost gives a goal right into the lap of Wigan. This game is finally heating up.
21:00 - Not much to this from a referee's perspective. Taylor has made five foul calls, so roughly one every four minutes. And now another on Fulham in the 23rd. Overall I think there is a pretty good flow to this game, though neither team is really taking the game by the scruff of the neck. A lot of play in the middle of the pitch. No hard tackles to speak of and so far, I think Taylor is doing really well in the middle.
9:15 - First real call (or no-call in this case) of the game at 9:15 in. It looked like Pantsil took a knock to the head after his bad touch. Referee doesn't flinch and play goes on leading to a shot off target by Rodellega. There was no close-up of the play but it looked like the referee made the right decision. Gotta better than a small knock in the EPL.
Kickoff - We are at the DW Stadium today and the referee is Anthony Taylor. To be honest I'm not too familiar with him. Wigan is sitting second from the bottom of the table and Fulham is 14th, but only a single point about the relegation zone.
Wigan are in the blue stripe and Fulham in a hideous green kit.
Today I'll be live-blogging the Fulham-Wigan game at 10am EST. Why this game? Well, Fulham are my team, so this is kinda like killing two birds with one stone. Remember, you can watch this game and any other on www.atdhe.net. I hope you'll follow along with me.
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