Paul Tierney to ref Plymouth v Pompey game '“ but who is he?

The Lancashire ref is to take charge for the game at Home Park as the Blues bid to book their place in the League Two play-off final at Wembley later this month.

Oliver Langford was the man in the middle for Thursday night’s first leg at Fratton Park, which ended 2-2 and not without incident.

Jamille Matt was caught on camera moving his head in on Pompey skipper Michael Doyle – an action which wasn’t punished at the time or when an FA panel met yesterday.

The incident was reportedly missed by Langford, who subsequently sent off Paul Cook and Pilgrims coach Paul Wotton as tensions rose on the touchline.

Meanwhile, Peter Hartley escaped a red card when he brought down Marc McNulty for the Blues’ penalty - despite appearing to be the last man.

Such incidents mean tomorrow’s clash promises to be another enthralling contest – and that requires Tierney to be at the top of his game.

But who is the man who will be at the centre of everything when the game kicks off at 6pm?

Here’s a few of his stats ahead of the game.

1. Tierney has refereed Pompey on four occasions, with the latest being the Blues’ 2-1 win against Derby in the League Cup earlier this season.

It was a game that resulted in no bookings or sending offs.

2. In the other matches, the Wigan-born official has handed Pompey six yellows and one red card.

The red was issued to Paul Robinson in the Blues’ 2-2 FA Cup draw with Aldershot in November 2014. That game also saw Nigel Atangana and Ricky Holmes booked.

When Pompey beat Leicester 1-0 on March 19, 2011, Jonathan Hogg, David Nugent and Carl Dickinson were shown yellow.

Ryan Bird was the only Blues player booked by Tierney when they drew 0-0 at Hartlepool in November 2013 (League Two).

3, Plymouth have never won with Tierney as referee.

4. In his two games in charge of the Pilgrims, he has dished out two reds and eight yellow cards.

5. When Plymouth were beat 3-2 by Huddersfield in January 2011, Curtis Nelson and Stephane Zubar both saw red, with five yellows also handed out.

6. Tierney has spent the majority of this season officiating in the Championship - 18 games (two reds, 57 yellows).

7. He has refereed four Premier League games this term, with the most recent being Bournemouth’s 3-1 victory against Newcastle at St James Park in March (four yellows).

8. In total, Tierney has five top-flight games to his name. In those matches, no red cards have been issued but he has booked 15 players.

9. Tierney was one previous play-off encounter to his name - the 2014 League Two play-off between Southend and Burton, which finished 2-2. The game saw six yellow cards handed out.

10. The Lancashire official has shown only one straight red card this season - Millwall’s Mahlon Romeo in the Lions’ 2-1 win at Gillingham last weekend.

The right-back was sent off following a challenge on Brennan Dickenson and misses out on Millwall’s League One play-off campaign.

11. In total, Tierney has refereed 234 games. His record stands at 653 yellow cards, 26 red cards and 27 straight reds.