MARGATE - THE GAME IS ON

[Miss.A.F.C.Hornchurch]

Not really for me to comment as I didn't go yesterday but I would assume that the match referee would have been aware of the distance involved for the away fans to travel and should have made a decision quicker so that Margate could have given us the heads up.

Exactly. Take east thurrock vs Bognor for example, was called off on Friday night as the pitch was in some doubt. Saved away fans traveling! Why couldn't this have been done?

 

Maybe this should be something that clubs from now on should look into doing to save those that have to travel a distance when the weather has caused a discrepancy in regards to whether a pitch is deemed playable on or not.

[cup of tea]

Game got cancelled at Redbridge at the last minute on Tuesday without any notice - it was a little bit annoying but at least I could get home in 20 minutes.

 

I appreciate that the referee has a responsibility to get the game on and that Margate would have done everything in their power to get the game on (I know the lengths we've gone to in the past regarding getting games on) but there's got to be a balance and the referee needs to make a decision for the benefit of all.

 

Do I blame Margate? No, Not really. There's now got to be a replay, I suspect on a Tuesday night. I'm sure no-one wanted that.

 

Odds on the Billericay game being on ?

[stormin norman]

How can a pitch be classified as OK at 9:30am in the morning then after 4 hours of sunshine and strong drying winds be deemed unfit for play.

 

 

I expect the first inspection would have been by a local ref, the second by the match ref. Two different people, two different opinions.

so the first inspection doesn't count ?what a friggin joke

[cup of tea]

Sorry, Mr Norman, thought our cup game was coming up but it's not for a while yet. Chance for your pitch to recover.

[Dagger03]

There was a pitch inspection at 9.30 am and the message posted on the Margate web site reads - 

 Early pitch inspection passed subject to continuing works on pitch..

 

I do not know what these 'continuing works' referred to.

 

When we got there at 1.45, the pitch looked in poor condition, with a very muddy goalmouth and large sanded areas over the rest of the pitch.

 

The match officials arrived at 1.30 and they carried out a pitch inspection almost immediately. They made a very thorough inspection, lasting over 15 minutes, and it was very obvious that the ball would not bounce on certain parts of the playing surface, and that the match was very much in doubt.

 

I spoke to several of the HFC players and officials after the postponement and all of them were in agreement that the pitch was not suitable.

 

In fact it was in worst condition than the pitch at Redbridge.

 

I am somewhat surprised that the pitch passed the original inspection, (as they had several hours of overnight rain), but once this was done, there was nothing Margate could do until the match officials arrived.

 

My own thoughts are that the match should have been postponed earlier than it was, but if a local referee passes it as fit, and if there is no more rain in the interim, there was little that Margate could do.

 

I would add that Margate did give out free food to the travelling supporters who were in the bar prior to the match, and that this gesture was very much appreciated.

 

Regarding expenses, the cost of coach travel is covered in the Isthmian League regulations, as the match was called off after the arrival of the away team.

 

The Margate directors told me that they had a similar experience at Leiston, when they got to the ground just in time for the referee to call it off.

[BlueGate Alan]

Thanks for that Daggers, explains it to those fans who are criticising us but, as you say, our hands were tied until the match ref turned up.

 

Glad the fans enjoyed some hospitality from us too, not many clubs would have done that!

 

By the way Dave, bloody awful picture you gave us

[paokman]

Way back around 1960 I was thrown out of Portman road having travelled up to see Spurs play Ipswich.

The three of us didn't know it had already been postponed and wandered in through the wide open gates and onto a snow covered pitch, only to be politely asked to leave the ground.