Locally-based ref Neale Barry had looked at the pitch at lunchtime and decided another look would be required by the match referee later in the day. The move caused anger among some travelling Carlisle fans who had to start their journey and abandon en route when the news came through. The weather has now caused the loss of United's last two games following the controversial postponement of Saturday's home game with Huddersfield, now re-arranged for next Tuesday, March 9 with a 7.45pm kick-off. Manager Paul Simpson slammed the referee after his 9.30am inspection led to the game being called off. Simpson believed the ref could have had another look at mid-day as the pitch was slowly thawing after overnight frost. The day time temperatures in the past few days have been well above freezing with strong sunshine but the pitches often suffer from being in shadow caused by the adjacent stands. Carlisle groundsman Ted Swainson revealed this was the main reason the game had been called off on Saturday. The club purchased pitch covers last season but Swainson is not convinced they always help in keeping the playing surface frost-free. The weather forecast for the weekend is for milder conditions, so the Cumbrians are expecting their trip to Torquay to go ahead as planned. They remain 8 points adrift of second-bottom Macclesfield and 11 points away from safety. The double postponement means suspended Paul Arnison will now miss the long journey down to Devon as he serves a one-game ban for reaching five bookings. However the injured trio of Mark Summerbell, Paul Raven and Kevin Henderson are unlikely to be fit in time to get themselves back in contention. Summerbell has played the last two reserve games but was described by Simpson as being some way away from full fitness. Picture from News & Star |
