Perth call-off draws different views from Malky and Callum
Malky Mackay believes the Premiership fixture between Ross County and St Johnstone – which was called off 50 minutes before kick-off by referee, Steven Mclean due to a waterlogged pitch – should have gone ahead.
The Staggies boss was unhappy with the
decision, particularly since County fans had braved blizzard conditions to make the 252-mile round trip to Tayside.
The ref inspected the playing surface at 1.30pm, and again 40 minutes later, before deciding that
players would have been at risk had it gone ahead.
A clearly frustrated Mackay said:“we got the shout at 1.15pm, telling us how the game
was in danger, which is reasonably late,” he said.
“We’re disappointed not to play the game because the conditions got better.
“We discussed what the options were with the referee, and he did his job properly.
“There was a conversation, and he gave it an extra half-an-hour. There was a point on the far side, maybe 5-10% of the pitch, that wasn’t playable at that moment.
“We’re disappointed for our fans who had travelled here, considering they had to battle snow on the A9.
“I haven’t been told when it’s rescheduled for, but it won’t be Wednesday.
“I get the logistical challenges for clubs to get
games on at three days’ notice, so I’m not forcing that at all.”
Mclean, meanwhile, defended his decision to postpone the match.
“When we arrived, there was an area of the pitch saturated in the penalty area on the far side,” he said.
“It was unplayable. There was a lot of sitting water, and the ball wasn’t bouncing.
“At 1.30pm the game was off, but we delayed the decision to let them do work on it. But when we looked at it again, the ball still wasn’t bouncing.
“It’s an important game for both teams, player safety is a major factor and that led us to a very difficult decision.”
Saints would have been without the injured Glenn Middleton, Murray Davidson, Stevie May and David Wotherspoon, and boss, Callum Davidson, claimed that Mclean made the right call.
“We’ve no complaints about it at all. The pitch is waterlogged in places,” he said. “They tried to give it as much time as possible because both teams wanted to get it played.
“But when you look at the conditions, and think about the safety of players, it was the right decision.
“There was very heavy rain when I was driving up to the stadium. It was very difficult to see.
“The training pitches here have been very heavy all week, so the water levels must be quite high.
“We’ll just do a bit of training out the back in the mud now, and give them a harder session on Monday.”