John Mousinho admitted Portsmouth’s goalless draw at home to winless Cheltenham could have been called off after a fan had to come out of the stands to run the line after two officials hobbled off injured.
The Robins produced a stubborn defensive display to pick up their first point of the season but it was the officials who stole the limelight when not one but two assistant referees limped off.
Fourth official Stephen Brown took over in the first half, but then he had to be replaced early in the second as an appeal was made for a qualified referee to volunteer, leading to 21 minutes of stoppage time.
Mousinho said: “I thought there was a chance the game could be called off because nobody knew what the affiliation of the fan who took over was.
“I was happy because he came down from our South Stand, so fair play to Cheltenham because they could have refused to play on.
“We were not quite on our game and it was a good opportunity for them to secure a point, which they did.
“Putting the game into words, up until the final third we were totally dominant.
“I don’t think we did quite enough to win the game, and we must start breaking these teams down. They come and play a certain way, which is frustrating, but we must overcome that.”
Cheltenham arrived without a win or a goal to their name and it showed, with no shots on targets in the opening half.
Pompey struggled to break down a five-man defence, and their two chances of note were in the seventh minute when a Connor Ogilvie shot flew wide, and an 11th-minute long-range effort from Joe Rafferty, saved by Luke Southwood.
Pompey came out fighting in the second half and Regan Poole thought he had scored with a header, but the ball hit a post and flew straight into goalkeeper Southwood’s arms.
Not even the lengthy stoppage-time period could produce a goal.
Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott said: “It was an outstanding performance from the team today.
“Over the past three or four seasons, a Cheltenham performance would be seen as gritty, organised, charismatic, one that carried a threat, and I thought we were all those things today.”
“I am very pleased that we are going home with a point.
“You could see that everybody played their part. There’s a spirit and camaraderie. There’s some tired bodies with wounds, limps and strains. It’s a tough league, and it’s been a tough start, with Saturday and midweek games.
“It will be nice to not have a game until next Saturday, which will give the players time to recover.”
“I thought the substitute assistant was the best we’ve had.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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