HENDO LIVID AT SLOAN SICK LIST
Ford boss slams chiefs over Talbot Cup let-off
THE oft-used idiom “time is a great healer” is about to be put to the test following yesterday’s announcement that Scottish football will be suspended until further notice and with immediate effect.
Indeed, it would be understandable if Scottish Junior FA officials were secretly thinking the third cancellation of the Macron Scottish Junior Cup quarter -final clash between fierce Ayrshire rivals Auchinleck Talbot and Hurlford United is no bad thing.
The showpiece Beechwood Park contest was set to be played out against the backdrop of a Hurlford complaint that Talbot had been afforded irregular and unprecedented dispensation to have last Saturday’s scheduled clash called off.
The Blair Park outfit are not disputing Talbot had seven players laid low by a sickness bug sweeping through their dressing room or that doctor-authenticated sickness certificates were produced to provide proof of the validity of these claims.
However their officials and supporters are thought to be seething at what they perceive to be the famous old competition’s rules being changed to accommodate the reigning trophy holders.
And a delegation of Hurlford club officials, in tandem with manager Darren Henderson travelling up to Hampden Park for a meeting with SJFA secretary Tom Johnston on Tuesday this week does not appear to have diffused their anger judging by a suggestion being allegedly muted that Hurlford might pull out of the tie.
A clearly still raging Hendo spoke with SportTimes last night to say: “It’s been openly said in some quarters that Talbot were only exercising right under the rulebook but while there’s a ruling in place for West Region governed competitions permitting clubs in instances of illness affecting seven players to request games to be called off, there is absolutely nothing to this effect in the SJFA rules pertaining to the Scottish Cup.
“It makes my blood boil as I can readily recall being cutely informed just a couple of years ago that ‘any team only needs seven players to start a game’ when I was tentatively investigating the idea of asking for a postponement due to the absence of half my team.
“And only last month we took on Cumnock when they were reduced to naming just one substitute by a combination of injuries, suspensions and work commitments so it looks like all other clubs must fulfil their fixtures when less than full strength?
“People might say I’m being unsympathetic here, but I cannot lose sight of the fact Tommy Sloan still had another 15 registered players at his disposal and really should have been told to play the tie as requested with or without his top players.
He added: “At the very least
Hurlford United as the other club involved should have been afforded the respect of being consulted after it was discovered there was nothing in the rulebook to allow a cancellation in the circumstances.
“But instead Mr Johnston’s response has been to telephone his general committee and get their consensus to call the game off.
“Altering the rules at the quarter-final stage makes a complete mockery of the competition, if you ask me.”
The prospect of Mark Roberts, Chris Robertson, Sean Dickson, Martin McDonald, Liam Caddis and Paul “Taz” McKenzie being declared non-starters if today’s game had gone ahead had caused Henderson and Hurlford’s club’s officials to come close to pulling out of the running for the Holy Grail silverware, won in 2013 for the only time in their history.
He insisted: “Talbot have played in both midweeks when our tie has been postponed and now have the added advantage of being much better off in terms of match fitness whereas I had been unable to arrange a friendly match for fear of picking up anymore injuries.
The suspension of Scottish football has the upside for Henderson in enabling his injured playing charges to recover full fitness however they will be unable to take part in friendly matches, closed door or otherwise, due to the ban applying to all football.
Long serving SJFA chief Johnston did not directly use the coronavirus word but certainly alluded to the pandemic being uppermost in his thoughts when Auchinleck Talbot club officials first made their request.
He insisted: “I fully sympathise with Hurlford United Football Club and indeed Darren but the everchanging current climate has made demands on everyone to be less rigid in their decisionmaking and I considered Auchinleck’s worsening predicament to be a cause of real concern.
“One of their players had fallen ill after taking part in a training session on return from a business trip to Prague and we then had the situation of another six team-mates reporting flu like symptoms later in the week and unable to play in a Champions Cup game against Rutherglen Glencairn.
“Auchinleck informed us they could be struggling to field a team come the Saturday and I requested Doctor signed evidence which I felt was necessary for our General Committee to make an informed decision on whether the game should go ahead or not.
“They made their call based on the facts and information available to them at the time and took the safest option.”
I can’t lose
sight of the fact they still had 15 players