Postponement was a Farse!

LATE POSTPONEMENTS are sometimes going to happen in Non-League football. A sudden downpour, drop in temperature or even a fast-setting fog. But Farsley Celtic’s FA Trophy replay at Barnet on Tuesday night was called off just minutes before kick-off because of a frozen pitch.

It meant a 380-mile round trip for the part-time visitors was completely wasted. You can imagine how annoyed they would have been. Now they are faced with making the same trip this Tuesday night!

We accept that there will be times when games have to be postponed but so soon before kick-off in these circumstances is a bitter pill to swallow.

Farsley say they are going to push for answers to make sure it’s not repeated and incidents like this will often spark the debate on Trophy replays.

But that doesn’t help the fans who made the long trek and will do so again.

Part-time players will have to take the time off work all over again, but it’s the fans, who will also be left out of pocket from the first trip.

At least the National League Bees have offered free admission and a couple of Barnet fans were also sure to buy them a drink after the game had been called off.

Football gives the impression that it forgets its fans at times. Escalating prices are forcing Premier League followers out of stadiums and into Non-League grounds. They should be embraced and welcomed.

But stories like Tuesday don’t show Non-League off in its best light. Barnet have had issues with their pitch this season and we can only hope Tuesday’s game goes ahead as scheduled.

We want to be talking about great moments in the FA Trophy, like Halesowen’s great run that saw them knock out National League Maidenhead on the same evening.

We must do better all round!