Wanderers game rained off
Published 23 Jan 2012 14:30
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OLD RIVALS: Wanderers faced Lasswade back in December 2010.
GREENOCK Wanderers' Clydeside derby match against Ardrossan Academicals was postponed on Saturday due to a waterlogged pitch at the hosts Memorial Park ground.
An early morning pitch inspection confirmed that the playing surface was unplayable due to excess water and the game was cancelled.
A last gasp effort by both clubs to move the fixture to Wanderers' Fort Matilda ground was thwarted due to a surfeit of water that also made the Octavia Terrace Park unplayable.
Wanderers 2nd XV fixture was similarly called off at Fort Matilda against Ardrossans' second string
Wanderers vice-president John McDougall said: "Both clubs did their utmost to get the game on and Ardrossan were even prepared to forgo home advantage and travel to Greenock so that the match could be played and the fixture card not further adversely affected.
"Unfortunately our playing surface was saturated with pools of water lying around the pitch which would have been dangerous for the players particularly when scrummaging."
Saturdays' match had already been rescheduled to a stand-by weekend due to Ardrossan Accies' forthcoming tour of Wales which coincided with the original date of 11 February set by the SRU fixtures committee.
Wanderers agreed to the dispensation to move the match forward to Saturday.
There are further SRU league stand-by dates on 25 February and 10 March and it is likely that the match will be rescheduled to one of those weekends.
Wanderers host their first competitive match of 2012 on Saturday at Fort Matilda when old rivals Lasswade drop by on league business.
It will be a tough match for the Greenock side who have only managed one victory in seven attempts against the Midlothian side over the last three seasons.
A bumper crowd is expected at Fort Matilda for Wanderers' first match of the New Year and a full preview of the match will appear in Friday's sports page.
l Wanderers are sponsored by Texas Instruments
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 23 Jan 12
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