NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL: St Ives Town boss backs referee after late cup-tie postponement
The scene at ProEdge Westwood Road as St Ives Town's cup tie against Aylesbury United was postponed on Tuesday night. - Credit: Archant
St Ives Town manager Ricky Marheineke insisted referee Daniel Hanna made ‘absolutely the right decision’ when calling off the club’s Southern League Challenge Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
The last-four showdown against Aylesbury United at ProEdge Westwood Road was postponed barely a quarter-of-an-hour before the scheduled 7.45pm kick-off time.
Torrential rain had fallen for much of the previous hour and turned the vast majority of an already difficult surface into a swamp.
Both clubs swiftly agreed to re-arrange the fixture for Tuesday (March 7).
Marheineke said: “It’s always disappointing to see a game of football postponed, but it was the correct call.
“The pitch was played on the previous night by our tenants, Cambridge City, and it was pretty cut up.
“Our dedicated volunteers worked for much of the day and did a great job to get it into a playable condition, but unfortunately the rain came at the wrong time.
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“It would have been a joke to allow a game to go ahead. The referee got his decision spot-on.
“I think the Aylesbury lads were quite disappointed after having to travel up here, but that can’t come into it.
“The game has already been re-arranged for next Tuesday and we’ll look forward to it hopefully going ahead then.”
The postponement could actually work in Saints’ favour. Marheineke only had 11 first-team players available on Tuesday.
The other semi-final did go ahead with Premier Division side Hayes & Yeading beating lower-level Salisbury 4-0.
