Heywood is first time referee at Forest

Last updated : 07 December 2012 By Tony Scholes

He should not be confused with Mark Haywood, the West Yorkshire referee who refereed Sean Dyche's first game in charge of Burnley against Wolves five weeks ago.

Tomorrow's referee is in only his second season as a Football League referee and this game will be just his fourth at Championship level. Last season he refereed the game between Middlesbrough and Palace at the Riverside and previously this season he's refereed games at Cardiff and Hull against Watford and Barnsley respectively.

I don't think I've seen him referee a game so I can't make any comment about him other than to reference his cards. Last season he refereed 27 games in which there were 75 yellow cards, just under three per game, and only one red card, that of Hartlepool goalkeeper Scott Flinders in only the eighth minute of a 1-0 home defeat against Stevenage, that goal coming from the resulting penalty.

This season the three per game average has been maintained. There have been 29 yellow cards in his ten games to date and a couple of red cards.

Of those yellow cards, nine have gone to home team players and twenty to away team players and that figure would have been more exaggerated but for six home players having been carded in his last two games.

The two players sent off were in the same game, Watford's Daniel Pudil and Nathaniel Chalobah in the game at Cardiff that they lost 2-1.

Heywood's last game was Swindon's 4-1 home win against Yeovil three weeks ago. There were five yellow cards in that game to Gary Roberts and James Collins, both Swindon, and Yeovil's Dan Burn, Byron Webster and Gavin Williams.

The assistant referees at Forest are Peter Gooch and Paul Marsden (both Lancashire). The fourth official is Paul Hobday (West Midlands).