The starting point
A clear match note can have three layers. The first records basic fixture facts. The second summarises the events described by a named source. The third offers your own interpretation, explicitly labelled and kept proportionate to the evidence available.
A useful way to read the evidence
This structure is especially useful when only a short report survives. It prevents descriptive language from becoming a statistical field and stops a later opinion from appearing to be contemporary testimony. Keep links beside important claims, and state where the source is silent. Readers then have enough information to understand both the football story and the basis on which it was written.
Keep in your notes
- Record fixture facts first.
- Attribute the event account.
- Label your interpretation.