In turn from YEP, I think DONCASTER Rovers chairman John Ryan admitted his club had been left "looking like idiots" after Saturday's Yorkshire derby with Leeds United fell foul of a frozen pitch. Doncaster were forced to turn away a capacity crowd from the Keepmoat Stadium following referee Andre Marriner's decision to call off Saturday's clash less than three hours before kick-off.
Rovers were anticipating an attendance of over 15,000 - their biggest of the season - and Ryan had flown home from South Africa to witness United's first competitive visit to Doncaster since 1956. But the important League One fixture between two clubs with aspirations of promotion was postponed at short notice amid criticism over the failure of the groundstaff at the Keepmoat Stadium to cover the entire pitch with frost sheets. Marriner arrived at the venue early on Saturday morning to discover a third of the surface under covers, and he quickly ruled the pitch unplayable. The noon start requested by South Yorkshire Police left insufficient time for the pitch to thaw. Ryan told the YEP: "I'm absolutely fuming. I'd flown back from Cape Town to be at the game, and we've been left looking like idiots." Doncaster issued a defensive statement yesterday insisting the low temperatures on Friday night would have prevented the frost covers from repelling the cold, but Ryan claimed Stadium Management Company (SMC) - the firm responsible for managing the council-owned Keepmoat Stadium - had ignored a direct order from him to protect the whole surface. Ryan added: "I spoke to SMC on Friday to tell them to cover the whole pitch and they've only covered a third of it. I'm appalled, and we as a club have been left to carry the can. "It should have been a fantastic match, and a lot of people were looking forward to it. I can only apologise to them because this shouldn't have happened." United were looking to record their first victory in seven matches on Saturday against the club who hold League One's second automatic promotion position, but the match was called off as the first stream of supporters began to arrive. McAllister and his players were at the ground before Marriner's decision was made public, but the judgement of the West Midlands official received the support of both clubs. Marriner said: "We got a call from the club secretary at Doncaster Rovers at 8.30am. They said there may be a problem, and could we come and do a pitch inspection. "On arrival, we found only a third of the pitch covered with frost covers, and the rest of the pitch was totally unplayable in terms of the ice on it. "The decision to call the game off was easy. It's totally down to player safety and that of the match officials as well. "I put my boots on to do the inspection and I was sliding along. It was iced over, and there was no way that match could have been played." On Saturday, Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford was due to serve a one-match ban and captain Andrew Hughes was missing with a knee injury. Beckford will instead serve his suspension during this Saturday's game against Crewe at Elland Road, and Ryan admitted he was fearful the rearranged match would give United time to recover their form. Ryan, whose side had won nine of their previous 11 matches, said: "This might have cost us three points. "I was very confident that we would win the game because we're in excellent form at the moment and Leeds' result haven't been great. "Who's to say that the situation will be identical when the game comes around again? "I'm angry about this, and I'll be even more so if we've thrown away three points." _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist DELETE THE FOOTERS WHEN REPLYING YOU LAZY SODS!!!! DELETE THE FOOTERS WHEN REPLYING YOU LAZY SODS!!!!
