The beginning of the end

The game

This game was played in fast pace and good spirits' and provided the viewers with some entertaining football, especially in the enthralling second half when both goals were scored. Dinamo were the better team, creating a lot of opportunities, but missing almost as many. Kiryat Shmona contributed their share of well-structured attacks and quick counter-attacks, which enabled them to score the leading goal (Kola, 63'), before Kuranyi reacted with Dinamo's well-deserved equalizer.

The ref.

Personally, I like Mr. Jakobsson's style. He doesn't use too many hand gestures - his arm isn't lifted to indicate which direction a throw-in has to be taken. He just leaves it to the ar and his flag. No sharp, arrow-like arm stretching to accompany the whistle for kick-off of every half-time, and no arms-waving when the half-time whistle or final whistle goes. However, the ref. keeps everyone informed who is in charge (e.g. his wink and smile in the 59th minute after awarding a free-kick to Kiryat Shmona). He kept the game flowing as his philosophy and strategy were "the less the whistle is blown, the better". Thus, many tackles and especially body-checking incidents of all sorts, both inside and outside the penalty-areas were not penalized. Probably, some other referees would interpreted some of these cases as foul-play, but Mr. Jakobsson was consistent in applyying his interpretation anywhere on the pitch. This policy helped a lot in letting the game flow and entertain the audience. On the other hand it exposed the ref to criticism of some sort - Mr. Jakobsson wasn't as fit as in earlier years, and his decision-making relied more on experience and understanding than on staying close to the action.

The ars

Like the man in the middle, the assistant referees, Mr. Gunnarsson and Mr. Gudmundsson, were up to the task. There were not many complaints about their decisions, except the Israeli team arguing after 57 minutes that a Dinamo player was offside at the far post (from Mr. Gunnarsson) when the ball was headed by one of his team-mates towards him. There was no replay to offer a clear answer to whether the ar was right or wrong in this case.