MATCH ABANDONED ONE MINUTE

EASTWOOD CFC 0 V OLLERTON TOWN 0 [MATCH ABANDONED 1 MINUTE FOG]
NOTTS SENIOR CUP ROUND FOUR @ CORONATION PARK
22 JANUARY 2020 --- 7.45PM

WE CAN SEE YOU OTHER THERE WELL JUST

'Hello Guinness Book of Records.......one minute you say.......you're a record breaker'.  The famous book would probably have been interested in this one and I'm approaching the age were I thought I might just have seen it all but clearly that's not the case as the match officials appeared to dither and then abandoned a game when conditions were better than when they started it.
Before anybody shouts Scotland in Estonia, called off inside three seconds, there was only one team turn up there and here both and a nice sized crowd were in attendance.  Eastwood again what could I write about after quite a few 3G rescuing visits in this seasons wet and now foggy wrecked affair its a funny old game and brings its own unique story to tonight's events.  Having made the trip over with Mr W from the Sheffield Parish arrival in the bar for a warm drink an hour before kick off saw a low lying mist and fog drift in and out but above the first couple of feet it was clear by kick off the opposite touchline was just about visible and referee James Tewson started proceedings only to be signalled by assistant Andrew Chislett McDonald to say he couldn't see.  How this wasn't sorted before the start I know not as conditions did not worsen in the first minute now in fairness to the referee as he took the players off the fog dropped and for the next five minutes was quite dense. 
As we made the journey back to the main side the fog cleared and the whole pitch came back into sight, out came the players and match officials who dithered and after ten minutes, that we could have been playing, finally walked off at funereal pace to discuss a restart.  A shame here that neither assistant had initially come out with their flags or left them pitch side when we could have started a lot quicker, anyway after a short dressing room stop the officials re appeared again in slow motion the whole thing felt like cricket umpires being slow hand clapped by the crowd as they faff about making a decision to restart play.

CLEARER NOW THAN ALL NIGHT DECISION MATCH ABANDONED

The rolling fog was still allowing opposite touchlines to be viewed and the referee once again delayed any re start before finally calling proceedings to a halt at around ten past eight with conditions the best they had been all night and certainly better than the ones he started the match in.
Most people will know from this blog that it is on the whole massively supportive of our referees but this one left a few questions that probably we can all learn from mine will be to never bother attending night games again when the weather will be 50/50 because even the 3G could not save us.  To further qualify the referee all the NSC games were abandoned tonight around the hour mark and this may well have happened here of course but at least we could have given it a go.  Thankfully with many spectators unsure of what was happening Eastwood responded positively with vouchers for the next game for tonight's crowd.
A strange night that left a selection of questions about how this may have been handled differently but of course at the end of the day its down to the opinion of the referee, while accepting fog is a fluid situation, but as ever supporters seem to be out of the loop and these situations further backs Tony Incenzo's call to bring in a protocol for non league postponements.  Thankfully I had not had to write this straight after the game like managers who are compelled to do interviews immediately otherwise my thoughts may not have been as considered.