Rotherham United go to Accrington Stanley on Saturday where Sebastian Stockbridge from Tyne and Wear.
Seb is in his seventh season as a Football League Referee after previously spending two years in the middle for non-league games. While a Football League Assistant he was involved in the Durham FA Referee Academy.
The last time the Millers and Seb met was in November 2017 in our League One game at home to Wigan Athletic. Will Grigg opened the scoring for the visitors with David Ball getting the equaliser two minutes later. Alex Bruce put Wigan back in front on the twenty-sixth minute and Michael Jacobs made it three-one on the hour mark. Richard Wood, Michael Ihiekwe and Richie Towell got yellow cards for the Millers that afternoon.
A month earlier Seb had been in the middle for our three-all draw at the Kassam Stadium. The Millers went in front with a Joe Newell goal on twenty minutes only for Jack Payne equalising for Oxford a minute later. Josh Ruffles put the hosts in front on the half-hour mark and Curtis Nelson made it three-one ten minutes later. Just before half-time Ryan Williams made it three-two with Kieffer Moore getting the equaliser for the visitors twelve minutes before the whistle went.
And, in the August of that season Seb was at the New York Stadium for our EFL Cup when Lincoln City were in town. Jamie Proctor opened the scoring for the Millers at the New York Stadium that evening but on sixty-four minutes Billy Knott equalised for the Imps. Anthony Forde came off the subs bench to give Rotherham a win and a second round tie away at Huddersfield.
Seb was in charge of the Millers in the same cup fixture the season before when Morecambe were the visitors to the New York Stadium. Cole Stockton gave the visitors an early lead and it took a Greg Halford penalty on fifty-nine minutes to get an equaliser. Nine minutes later Mr Stockbridge gave Morecambe a spot-kick which Jack Dunne duly put past Lewis Price with the Millers getting a second equaliser on eighty-one minutes courtesy of Jerry Yates. Two minutes later Rotherham went into the lead for the first time thanks to an Anthony Forde goal but on the stroke of full-time Jack Dunne got his second and Morecambe’s third to send the tie into extra time. Former Miller Kevin Ellison put the boot in when he put the visitors back in front on one hundred and thirteen minutes with Dunne getting his hat-trick and making it five-three five minutes later. Jerry Yates got his second but the Millers were out of the cup competition at the first time of asking losing five-four. Wakefield and Edwards saw yellow for Morecambe on the evening with the only yellow for the Millers going to sub Richard Wood.
The only other game Seb has been in charge of the Millers for was in League One in November 2013. The game was at the New York Stadium with the visitors being Colchester. Former Miller Marcus Bean put the visitors in front on seven minutes with Matt Tubbs equalised just two minutes later. Kieran Agard then put the Millers in the lead on twenty-two minutes and with the Millers thinking they’d got all three points Elliot Lee scored an equaliser for Colchester. Getting yellow cards that afternoon was Mark Bradley and Matt Tubbs of the Millers and the visitors Lee Garbutt, Cian Bolger and Elliot Lee.
In the twenty-four games Seb has been in the middle for this season he has shown seventy-seven yellow cards and five red cards, one of those to Accrington’s Ross Sykes.
Running the line at the Wham Stadium we have Richard Woodward and Chris Isherwood with the Fourth Official being Conor Brown.
