Workington Reds’ rearranged game at Bootle tonight has been postponed.
A waterlogged pitch was reported this lunchtime by the Merseyside club and an inspection was made before Reds were due to travel.
In fact, Reds had been receiving reports that the hybrid pitch at Bootle had been causing a few problems over drainage.
But it’s disappointing not to be back in action, especially as Reds are without a game on Saturday and aren’t due to play again until February 19 at Ramsbottom.
However, both their main rivals are due to be involved in action tonight.
Second-placed Marine will now get in their game in hand with a tough assignment at Runcorn Linnets while Warrington Rylands are at home to Colne.
Tonight’s break, however, will give more time for Dav Symington and skipper Conor Tinnion to recover from hamstring problems.
Top scorer Symington limped off midway through the second half against Mossley on Saturday and would have been highly unlikely to have been used tonight.
Tinnion was an unused sub at the weekend as he came back from a three-week absence.
Steven Rigg, who has been unavailable for two weeks through a previously-arranged family commitment, will also benefit from more time too.
He had a bout of pleurisy which laid him low for a fortnight and he had only just returned to the bench when he missed the last two games.
Reds still have long term absences in Nico Evangelinos and Scott Allison, who are likely to play little part in the battle for the title.
That’s why manager Chris Willcock has been asking for extra goals from midfield. They have been answered in recent weeks – but he wants more.
There have been goals from Brad Carroll, Brad Hubbold and Ceiran Casson in recent matches.
“We didn’t play particularly well in the second half on Saturday but had a good moment with another goal from midfield when Cass produced an excellent finish to double our lead and we were able to see it through.
“I’ve been asking our midfield players to come up with more goals and they have responded well in recent weeks. It is very important to have goals from all areas of the pitch.”
Later the Bootle club said: “Our pitch is part of a pilot scheme to maximise utilisation for the community. This has unfortunately resulted in compaction which is impacting drainage significantly.
“Recent wet weather has left the pitch completely saturated and unplayable for the Workington game tonight.
“We have identified the issues preventing the pitch from draining as designed. A full renovation is scheduled in May to address this.”
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