How to record a live match in Squadd

The Live Match screen is your real-time matchday companion. Use it to track the score, log goals, make substitutions, issue cards, and follow fair-play suggestions — all from your phone on the touchline.

🔒 Live match recording is a Pro feature. So are Man of the Match, the lineup builder, and fair-play rotation.

Before you start

For the best experience, do these three things before kick-off:

Build your lineup — your saved lineup pre-populates the ON PITCH player list. If you haven't saved a lineup, you can still use the Live Match screen, but you'll need to manage the player list manually. See Selecting your lineup.
Confirm availability — make sure your available players are marked up so the lineup reflects who's actually there. See Setting availability for a fixture.
Open the fixture — Live Match is accessed from the Fixture detail screen, not the Fixtures list directly.

Starting the match

Go to the Fixtures tab and tap your fixture.
On the Fixture detail screen, tap "Start Match" at the bottom of the screen.
The Live Match screen opens and the match timer starts.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the full layout — "Live: Northside United" in the header, the score panel with US and THEM scores, the green timer, + Goal buttons, + Save button, Half Time / Full Time buttons, and the ON PITCH player list below.] The Live Match screen — everything you need to run the match from the touchline.

The score panel

At the top of the screen, the score panel shows:

US — your team's score (left side)
THEM — the opponent's score (right side)
A red live dot between the two scores
The current minute in green (e.g. 12')
Time remaining shown below the timer

[Screenshot: Live Match score panel close-up showing "US 1" on the left, a red dot in the centre, "THEM 0" on the right, and the timer showing "12'" with time remaining below.] The score panel. US = your team, THEM = the opposition.

Recording goals

⚠️ Two + Goal buttons — take care. There are two goal buttons on the screen. They look similar but record very different things. The green + Goal button (left side) records a goal for your team. The dark + Goal button (right side) records a goal for the opposition. On a busy touchline, it's easy to tap the wrong one.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing both + Goal buttons side by side. The green + Goal button on the left is annotated "YOUR GOAL" and the dark + Goal button on the right is annotated "THEIR GOAL". Red boxes around both buttons.] Green = your goal. Dark = their goal. Double-check before you tap.

To record your team scoring:

Tap the green + Goal button (left).

To record the opposition scoring:

Tap the dark + Goal button (right).

After tapping + Goal, a scorer picker appears — select the player who scored from your on-pitch list. After picking the scorer, a second screen asks for the assist (optional — tap "No assist" to skip). The score updates as soon as you confirm.

💡 Tip — If you're too busy on the touchline to log the scorer immediately, tap the correct + Goal button first to keep the scoreline accurate, then revisit the Match Report after full time to check the attribution.

An automatic post is added to your team's Feed for every goal — your team's (e.g. "⚽ GOAL 23' — [scorer]") and the opposition's (e.g. "[Opponent] score 23'").

Recording goalkeeper saves

Tap the + Save button (the full-width green button with the 🧤 glove icon) to record a save by your goalkeeper.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the + Save button below the + Goal buttons — full-width green button with glove emoji. Red box around the + Save button.] Tap + Save each time your goalkeeper makes a save. The total is shown on the Match Report.

Saves are tallied per goalkeeper and displayed on the Match Report screen after full time. The Goalkeeper tracking module must be active for saves to be tracked. See Goalkeeper tracking.

💡 Tip — Record saves as they happen — it's easy to lose count during a busy spell of play. The save count appears on the auto-generated match summary post in your team's Feed.

Managing substitutions

Using the Fair-play sub suggestion

If the Fair-play helpers module is active, Squadd monitors playing time and proactively suggests a substitution when one player has significantly more minutes than another.

When a suggestion appears, you'll see a SUGGESTED FAIR-PLAY SUB banner on the screen:

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the SUGGESTED FAIR-PLAY SUB banner — green border card with ⚡ icon, text showing "[Player A] on for [Player B] — most vs least minutes", and a ⇄ swap icon on the right.] The fair-play sub banner names the exact players and the reason for the suggestion.

To act on the suggestion: Tap the ⇄ swap icon on the banner.
To dismiss it: Ignore the banner and continue — it will update as minutes change.

⚠️ Tapping ⇄ on the fair-play banner executes the substitution immediately — there is no confirmation step. Make sure you're ready to make the change before you tap.

Making a manual substitution

To make your own substitution at any time:

Find the player coming off in the ON PITCH list.
Tap the ⇄ sub icon on their row.
Select the player coming on from your bench.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the ON PITCH player list. One player row is highlighted, showing the four action icons: ⇄ sub, 🧤 save, 🟡 yellow card, 🔴 red card. Red box around the ⇄ sub icon.] Tap the ⇄ icon on any player row to make a substitution.

The ON PITCH player list

Scroll down the Live Match screen to see the ON PITCH section. This lists every player currently playing, sorted by most minutes first — the player at the top has been on the pitch the longest.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the ON PITCH section header "ON PITCH (7) — SORTED BY MOST MINUTES" and several player rows. Each row shows: avatar circle, player name, a green minutes badge (e.g. "18'"), and the four action icons.] Players are sorted by minutes played — most at the top. The minute badge shows their current total.

Each player carries a minute badge that's colour-coded: green while they're on the pitch, grey while they're on the bench. These minute badges, the 50% playing-time warning, and the fair-play sub suggestions are coach-only — they're never shown to parents — and they're scoped to the match-day squad (over-cap reserves are excluded from the count and from sub suggestions).

Each player row has four action icons:

Icon	Action
⇄	Make a substitution — takes this player off
🧤	Record a goalkeeper save (shown on GK row)
🟡	Issue a yellow card
🔴	Issue a red card

Issuing yellow and red cards

Find the player in the ON PITCH list.
Tap the 🟡 icon to issue a yellow card, or the 🔴 icon to issue a red card.

The card is recorded against the player and appears in the match statistics.

💡 Tip — A player who receives a red card should be substituted off. Use the ⇄ sub icon first, then issue the red card, so the player list stays accurate for the remainder of the match.

Marking half time

When the first half ends, tap Half Time.

[Screenshot: Live Match screen showing the Half Time and Full Time buttons side by side — two mid-size grey buttons below the + Save button.] Half Time and Full Time sit side by side. Tap Half Time at the break.

Half time pauses the timer — minutes stop accumulating for all players. Use this time to review the ON PITCH list, check the score, and follow any fair-play sub suggestions before the second half restarts.

📝 Note — You stay on the same screen for the second half. Tap Second Half when play resumes and the timer picks up from where it paused.

Marking full time

When the final whistle goes, tap Full Time.

Tapping Full Time ends the live match and moves you to the Match Report screen, where you review goals and saves, award Man of the Match and GK of the Match, and complete the match record. See Completing the Match Report.

📝 Full Time isn't permanent. If you tapped it by mistake, you can reset the fixture to "In progress" from the fixture detail screen and carry on recording. And anything that ended up wrong can be corrected afterwards on the Match Report — see below.

Fixing things after full time (post-match editor)

Open the Match Report in edit mode to correct a finished match:

Final score — adjust each team's goals with the + / − steppers.
Per-player minutes — set how long each player was on; tap "Even split" to divide minutes evenly across the squad.
"Who kept goal?" — pick the goalkeeper(s) for the match. This sets clean-sheet credit and Goalkeeper of the Match, and supports two keepers splitting a match.
"Edit goals & events" — open the live timeline to fix scorers, assists, and own goals for either team.

So a wrong score, scorer, or minute count can always be put right once the match is over.

Tips

💡 Tip — Keep your phone screen on during the match. Most phones dim or lock after a short period of inactivity. Adjust your screen timeout settings before kick-off so the Live Match screen stays visible.

💡 Tip — The ON PITCH list sorted by most minutes is your best tool for fair play. The players at the bottom of the list have played the fewest minutes — they're the natural candidates for the next substitution.

💡 Tip — If you're managing the match without a spare hand, use the SUGGESTED FAIR-PLAY SUB banner to simplify substitution decisions. Squadd does the maths so you don't have to.

💡 Tip — If the wrong + Goal button gets tapped by accident, make a note and correct the score and goalscorer details on the Match Report screen after full time.

Troubleshooting

I tapped the wrong + Goal button. The score will be wrong on screen. Continue the match and correct the goal attribution on the Match Report screen after tapping Full Time. If possible, also make a note so you remember the actual scorer.

A player isn't showing in the ON PITCH list. If you didn't save a lineup before starting the match, the player list may not be pre-populated. Check whether the player was added to your squad in the Squad tab.

The SUGGESTED FAIR-PLAY SUB banner isn't appearing. The fair-play sub suggestion requires the Fair-play helpers module to be active. Check Settings > Optional Modules. The banner also won't appear until there is a meaningful difference in playing time between players — early in the match it may not trigger.

I accidentally tapped Full Time before the match ended. You'll be taken to the Match Report screen, but Full Time isn't final. Go to the fixture detail screen and tap Reset to In Progress to reopen the match and keep recording. If the match really is over, just correct anything that's wrong (score, scorers, minutes) using the post-match editor on the Match Report.

The timer isn't counting. Check that you've started the match by tapping the green start button on the Fixture detail screen. The timer starts automatically when the live match opens.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to record every event live?

No. Recording goals, saves, and cards is optional — the most important action is recording the final score via the + Goal buttons, and tapping Full Time to complete the match. Everything else adds detail to the Match Report and stats.

Can I use the Live Match screen without a saved lineup?

Yes. The Live Match screen opens regardless of whether you've saved a lineup. The ON PITCH list may not be pre-populated with your starting players if no lineup was saved, which means you'll need to manage the player list manually during the match.

What's the difference between the ⇄ icon on the fair-play banner and the ⇄ icon on a player row?

The ⇄ on the fair-play banner executes the specific substitution Squadd has suggested (Player A on for Player B). The ⇄ on a player row lets you choose any substitution you want — you select which player is coming on.

Can parents see the live score during the match?

Goals appear in the team Feed as they're recorded (a post for each goal, both teams), so parents following the Feed can keep up with the scoreline. What stays coach-only is the fair-play tooling — the minute badges, the 50% warning, and the sub suggestions are never shown to parents.

What happens to the data if I close the app mid-match?

Goals, cards, saves, and substitutions are saved against the fixture as you record them, so the events you've already logged are kept. As a precaution, try to stay on the Live Match screen during an active match. If something does end up wrong, you can still correct the score, scorers, and minutes afterwards with the post-match editor on the Match Report.