GAMES OFF AS STORM DOES ITS DAMAGE...
STORM Eunice and its aftermath caused disruption to the EFL weekend programme with eight matches called off across the three divisions.
Two matches fell by the wayside in the Championship: Bournemouth’s game against Nottingham Forest on Friday night and Blackburn’s match with Millwall yesterday.
In a statement on Friday afternoon, Bournemouth said their game had been postponed ‘for safety reasons following damage to Vitality Stadium caused by Storm Eunice’.
The Cherries added: “Structural engineers have carried out an inspection of the stadium and have confirmed that the damage could pose a significant risk to supporters’ safety.
“The ongoing impact of the storm means the damage cannot be repaired in time either to fulfil the fixture on Friday, or at a rearranged time on Saturday.
“The club apologises for the inconvenience caused by this announcement, but would like to reassure supporters it has been made with the safety of everyone due to attend the match in mind.”
Blackburn’s match was a late call-off – it was postponed at 2.15pm over player safety concerns after heavy snowfall at Ewood Park.
In League One, Crewe v Portsmouth, Fleetwood v Lincoln and Shrewsbury v Morecambe all fell by the wayside, while there were also three postponements in League Two – Exeter v Barrow, Harrogate v Leyton Orient and Salford v Crawley.
Exeter announced on Friday that their game had been postponed.
In a statement, the Grecians explained: “Due to concerns over the integrity of the Big Bank structure, we have made the very difficult decision to postpone tomorrow’s match with Barrow.
“We will always take everyone’s safety seriously, and therefore while this is a difficult decision, we do not have a sufficient window of opportunity to inspect the high level structure to confirm if any lasting damage has been done by the persistent high winds.
“We have tried to ensure that this decision has been made early for everyone’s benefit, including Barrow who would be travelling today.”