Accrington Stanley (a): EFL Trophy Match Officials

The Football League has now announced the officials that will take charge of the match between Accrington Stanley and Lincoln City at the Wham Stadium in the Second Round of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday 5th December. This match will kick-off at 19:45.

Referee: Martin Woods.
Assistants Referees: Stephen Rushton and Richard Wigglesworth.
Fourth Official: Paul Marsden.

NEW QUIZ: How much can you remember from the last time Accrington Stanley hosted The Imps in the EFL Trophy? Have a go at the quiz at the bottom of the page or simply CLICK HERE (opens in a new window)!

You can discuss this refereeing appointment here, and get involved with our pre-match discussion!

This will be the third time he has been the man in the middle for a match involving Accrington Stanley and also his third time for a match involving Lincoln City.

He made his Football League debut as a referee in April 2022, for the match between Walsall and Carlisle United (1-0) in League Two, showing four yellow cards, including a booking of former Imps loanee Carl Rushworth. Woods was officially promoted to the National Group (League One & League Two) ahead of the 2022/23 season.

His most recent match involving the hosts was their 3-0 win at home versus Newport County back in August when he showed just two yellow cards, both of which were for Accrington players (Lewis Shipley and Tommy Leigh).

His most recent match involving The Imps was just a few days later when he oversaw the 2-0 win away at Notts County in the First Round of the League Cup. He showed 4 yellow cards and 1 red card in this match, including bookings for Paudie O’Connor and Alistair Smith.

Martin Woods was the man in the middle for 27 matches during the 2022/23 season. In those matches, he showed 99 yellow cards and 5 red cards. He showed 8 cards on three occasions last season: Tranmere Rovers 3-5 Leeds United U21s in the EFL Trophy (7 yellow cards and 1 red card), Port Vale 2-2 Forest Green Rovers in League One (8 yellow cards) and Port Vale 0-0 Oxford United in League One (7 yellow cards and 1 red card).

So far this season he has refereed 16 matches, showing 60 yellow cards (3.75) and 3 red cards. He was most card-happy in the League One encounter between Carlisle United at Bristol Rovers (0-1) at Brunton Park, showing 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, including a booking for former Accrington Stanley defender Ben Barclay.

Sources: English Football League & Soccer Base.

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