Sittingbourne manager Jim Ward questions referee's decision to postpone weekend match against Burgess Hill
by Craig Tucker
Sittingbourne joint manager Jim Ward felt the referee was
wrong to postpone his side's home match against Burgess
Hill on Saturday.
The match was called-off due to a waterlogged pitch only half an
hour before kick-off.
Ward, pictured, said: "The pitch was perfectly
playable. There was nothing wrong with it. When the referee turned
up at 1.45pm, he said we’d need to clear that bit, that bit and
that bit.
"We did that, the ball was running and bouncing fine and the
players were ready but it was like he’d already made his mind up
because he didn’t even bother getting changed.
"Both managers wanted to play. We tried to reason with the
referee but he wasn’t having it. There’s only so much you can say
to them otherwise you end up in deep water.
"It was disappointing because people had travelled to the game
and 85 kids were due from our youth section."
Bourne sit eighth in Ryman League Division 1 South ahead of
their match at Walton Casuals on Saturday. Midfielder Nick
Treadwell (shoulder) and Simon Pettit (Achilles) should be the only
players missing.
19/03/13
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