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.
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“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.
