NOTTS PARADE SUNK BY RAIN
NOTTS COUNTY assistant manager Mark Crossley backed referee Dean Whitestone’s decision to abandon the game after a huge storm.
Play was halted after ten minutes of the League Two clash because of a deluge of rain which left standing water on the Meadow Lane surface.
A section of the touchline and one goalmouth were worst affected and having originally said play would be delayed, Whitestone eventually took the decision to abandon the game.
It stopped Notts from trying to sustain an excellent run of form which has seen them win six of their last eight games.
But Crossley said Whitestone had taken the right decision with the players’ safety in mind.
“It was unplayable,” said Crossley. “Alex Rodman nearly broke his leg, not because of a bad tackle but because the ball just stopped. It was getting pretty dangerous out there.
“I have encountered something like it before when I was playing for Forest against Tottenham, but it wasn’t rain it was snow. Fifteen minutes in the snow just came from nowhere. Nobody could see the ball, so that comes a pretty close second.
“It’s a shame really because we were in good form and we had some momentum and I think the players are disappointed because they wanted it to continue.
“We actually started the game well and the goalkeeper made a good save early on. But the referee made the right call in the end.”
In the ten minutes that were played, Notts started brilliantly with the game promising to be an entertaining one.
It took just a couple of minutes for Stanley Aborah to go close when he let fly from distance which forced a corner.
And following that set-piece, Haydn Hollis forced a superb save from Barry Roche before Aborah struck another effort just wide.
Morecambe hit back through a shot from Paul Mullin which was saved comfortably by Adam Collin.
But with the players struggling to carry the ball at their feet as the rain hailed down, that was enough for the referee to bring play to a halt after consulting both managers, Jim Bentley and John Sheridan.
As the players disappeared down the tunnel and after a short break to see if the rain would relent, fans were informed the game had been abandoned.
Morecambe manager Bentley said: “The referee had no option but to call the game off, although maybe he could have done it earlier.
“He gave it a go, but it was a shame because we were looking forward to the game.
“I was unhappy with the booking for Michael Rose because the referee could have taken the conditions into account. There was no way it was a malicious challenge, it was just the rain holding the ball up.”