The man in charge of the Sky Bet EFL League One match between Coventry City and Peterborough United is GAVIN WARD.
Experienced referee Gavin Ward takes charge of the Posh match on Saturday at the Ricoh Arena.
The Surrey-based official is celebrating 10 years as a Football League official and during that time, he has refereed ten Posh matches. Ward has witnessed four Posh wins, five defeats and one draw.
That draw was the first time Ward had officiated a Posh match. That was back in the 2007/2008 season when Posh fought out a one-all draw at home to Morecambe. Aaron McLean had given Posh the lead after 63 minutes from the penalty spot but they couldn`t hold on to the lead as Garry Thompson leveled things up 20 minutes later. Two yellow cards were shown in the match with both sides picking up one each.
Ward has actually refereed a Coventry City match against Posh and that coincided with the last time he officiated a Posh match! It was Halloween last season when Posh strolled in at half-time with a very comfortable looking two-nil lead. A double substitution at half-time by the Sky Blues followed by an injury to key Posh midfielder Chris Forrester completely swung things round.
Romain Vincelot pulled a goal back eleven minutes into the second half before a brace of goals in the final 10 minutes from Middlesbrough loanee Adam Armstrong [pictured above] completed the comeback to claim all three points! Five yellow card were shown in the match with four of them going to Posh players.
The last time Ward refereed Posh to victory was over three years ago when Posh beat Tranmere Rovers three-nil in a League One clash. The mid-January clash saw Britt Assombalonga open the scoring from the penalty spot after five minutes but it took until 15 minutes from the end to breach a determined Rovers side. Nicky Ajose scored the second goal before Assombalonga scored his second of the match three minutes from time. Four yellow cards were dished out in the match but Shaun Brisley was the only Posh player to receive one.
The Sky Blues have already had the pleasure of Ward this season when he took charge of their match at AFC Wimbledon. Jodi Jones had given the visitors the lead with 19 minutes remaining of the match but the Dons struck back right at the death with a 90th minute equaliser. No cards were shown during the Valentines Day match.
Just like Posh, Ward has refereed 10 Coventry matches and just like Posh, five matches have ended in defeat for the Sky Blues! However, Posh have won one more than Coventry under the officiating of Ward.
The last match Ward took charge of was on Aprils Fools Day in a League Two match between Cheltenham Town and Morecambe. The home side won three-one with three of the four goals coming after Morecambe had Alex Kenyon sent off two minutes into the second half. Cheltenham doubled their lead from the penalty spot after the sending off before making it three after 57 minutes. Morecambe did get a goal back but it was courtesy of an own goal! Along with the red card, Ward issued five yellow cards with three going to the home side.
The last League One match officiated by Ward came in mid-March when Millwall and Bury battled out a goalless draw. Two yellow cards were shared by the sides as well.
The assistant referees for the Sky Blues v Posh clash are Paul Marsden and Michael Denton. The fourth official is Ravel Cheosiaua.
Coventry City -Vs- Peterborough United
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Date: Saturday, 8th April, 2017
Kick-off: 15:00pm
Referee
Gavin Ward
Assistants
Paul Marsden
Michael Denton
Fourth official
Ravel Cheosiaua
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