Chester chief executive labels Eastleigh postponement a “shambles”

By Matt Badcock
CHESTER chief executive Mark Maguire says the club are angry on “behalf of the fans and the league’s integrity” after the late postponement at Eastleigh on Saturday.
Maguire told the club’s website – chesterfc.com – that the Blues want to find out why the scenario unfolded as it did.
The National League fixture was called off just after 12.30pm on Saturday, with many Chester fans already in the area and the Blues’ team bus not far away.
A local referee had passed the pitch fit on Friday and even at 12pm on the day of the game, the club informed Chester they didn’t expect any problems.
But when match referee Savvas Yianni arrived, it was inspected and the game called off.
The Hampshire outfit were letting season ticket holders take two guests to the match for free.
It’s the second time Chester have been hit by a late postponement this season. Their opening day fixture at Solihull Moors was cancelled less than 24 hours before kick-off because of an issue at Moors’ ground.
Chief Maguire labelled the saga a “shambles” and says he understands the anger felt by the club’s fans.
Speaking on Saturday, Maguire said: “It’s a shambles really. We’re in a situation, once again, where at very late notice we’ve lost a football game. We’re stood here in the sunshine in Eastleigh wondering why.
“Most importantly, angry on behalf of the fans and angry in terms of the integrity of the league really because it’s got to be a possibility to have better lines of communication so this kind of situation doesn’t happen at such late notice. For people travelling such a distance – whether they be fans, players or management – it’s really frustrating for everybody concerned.
“In terms of how things developed from our point of view, we had conversations with Eastleigh yesterday, from a local referee who had been asked to look at the pitch but it was fine and playable at that point. We then spoke to their secretary, who said that they’d spoken with the manager and the match referee, and between them decided an original plan for a 7am inspection wasn’t necessary.
“The pitch was fine and there wasn’t a forecast for rain overnight, so it wasn’t necessary. Then we got a phone call from their secretary at midday to say the ref would be here shortly but the game was on and it was playable.
“Then half-an-hour later we get a phone call to say it’s been called off. We’re 15 minutes away. Clearly that’s unacceptable and without casting aspersions on anyone or anything, we need to find out why that happened.”
Eastleigh laid a new pitch in the off season but one corner has been causing problems. They had to cancel friendlies with AFC Wimbledon and Portsmouth and the league game against Dagenham was delayed while the area was tended to.
The club say it’s not a rainfall problem, but a sub-soil problem that has turned the section of the pitch into a bog. Work recommenced on it yesterday in a bid to sort the issue.
An Eastleigh club statement on Saturday ready: “Following a pitch inspection from today’s match officials, our game against Chester has been postponed.
“It is with regret this decision has been made so close to kick off however, every care had been taken in advance of the game to prevent this from happening.
“A match official was called in on Friday afternoon to view the pitch and following this inspection it was deemed safe to play. This information was relayed to today’s referee Mr Savvas Yianni on Friday afternoon.
“Upon arriving at the ground today, the match officials have taken the view that player safety was at risk and decided to postpone the game.
“Ground staff had covered the small affected area over night to protect the surface from any rainfall which was forecast. However, the problem with this area of the pitch is not a surface water issue but a sub-soil drainage problem.  Additional drainage has been installed in the affected area over the past week.
“This issue is being addressed immediately and emergency work will commence Monday.
“Fans who have purchased tickets in advance are entitled to a full refund and this will be available from the club shop.
Should fans wish to keep their tickets, these will be okay to use for the re-arranged game or for another league game of your choice. The club will make no further comment on this issue.”
Full Mark Maguire interview: http://www.chesterfc.com/2017/09/30/breaking-news-eastleigh-game-called-off/