City ‘followed all protocols’ over Ebbsfleet match call-off

Bath City say they are confident they followed all the protocols regarding the postponement of their Enterprise National League South match against Ebbsfleet United on Saturday 3rd January.

Bath City’s Matt Bowman fires over in the final minute of the Enterprise National League South game against Torquay United on Tuesday 30th December. The match attracted a crowd of 2,289 to the Cannon Clarke Stadium @ Twerton Park | Photo © Simon Howe

The Romans came in for criticism on social media after the game was called off less than two hours before the scheduled kick-off.

The fixture bit the dust because the pitch at the Cannon Clarke Stadium @ Twerton Park was frozen.

In a statement that evening, City said: “A frustrating day all round for us as a club, Ebbsfleet United and the supporters of both teams, as on Friday evening we had genuine hopes that the game today could go ahead.

“A heavier frost than expected overnight led to a lot of back and forth, and sometimes frank opinions.

“We have heard from Ebbsfleet United and are pleased to hear that they are also in agreement with the decision to call the game off.

“We accept that an earlier decision could have been helpful; however, we are confident we followed all the protocols.

“The pitch was assessed at 9am today, and this revealed that the overnight frost was much heavier than forecast and the pitch was now frozen in places.

“In our opinion, both looking at the forecast for the rest of the day and taking into account the short daylight hours at this time of year, it was felt that there was now a high risk of the match suffering postponement.

“With the match referee three hours away, a decision was taken to bring in a local referee to carry out an inspection.

“At 10.30 am, a local referee arrived to carry out an inspection. Although he agreed the pitch was indeed frozen, he decided against calling the match off, preferring to wait until the arrival of the match referee to give the match every chance of going ahead.

“At 1.15pm, the match referee arrived and duly called the game off.

“Bath City FC would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused, and we regret that the game could not go ahead as scheduled.

“It is never easy to balance the aim to get a game played and trying to postpone at the earliest opportunity to give supporters as much notice as possible.

“Given the uncertainty that remained at the point of the first referee inspection, despite our own doubts it would proceed, we believe that we acted correctly.

“Sadly, the weather overnight got the better of the situation, and whilst the path to that decision had differing opinions, both clubs are 100% in agreement that the right decision was made for player welfare.

“Details of the rearrangement will be provided at the earliest opportunity.”

City’s league game at home to Torquay United on Tuesday 30th December attracted a crowd of 2,289 to the Cannon Clarke Stadium @ Twerton Park. The attendance included 1,021 Torquay fans.

The game ended 0-0, the Gulls piling on the pressure early on but Bath going close when Owen Windsor drove narrowly over the bar in the 39th minute following good work by Brad Ash.

Torquay substitute and former City striker Cody Cooke shot into the side-netting midway through the second half. And soon after, Dan Hayfield – another ex-Bath player – fired over from an excellent position.

However, the best chance of the evening fell to the hosts. In the final minute, Matt Bowman shot over from a tight angle six yards out after being set up by Jordan Alves.

City boss Darren Way said: “They’re a good team, they’ve got good technical players but when you look at the overall game I don’t think [Bath keeper] Harvey [Wiles-Richards] had a save to make.

“We had a good number of chances in the second half to go and win it. The players put in a phenomenal effort from an energy point of view. We won a lot of duels in the first half and the second half.

“Big thanks to the away supporters that turned up and created a really, really good environment.

“The [Bath] supporters enjoyed the game and they deserved that because I felt as a team we left them down on Boxing Day [when City lost at bottom side Chippenham Town].”

Bath: Harvey Wiles-Richards, Joe Raynes, Dan Greenslade, Jack Batten, Kieran Parselle, Jordan Alves, Brad Ash, Jordan Tillson, Luke Russe, Matt Bowman (Jaiden Putman, 90), Owen Windsor. Unused subs: Charlie Binns, Louis Sweeten, Mitch Beardmore, Owen Pritchard, Manny Yeboah.

The Romans will entertain National League promotion-chasers Southend United on Saturday 10th January in the fourth round of the Isuzu FA Trophy (3pm).

Discounted tickets are available here.

Meanwhile, the Romans’ Francis Hillier Premier Cup quarter-final at home to Jewson Western League Premier Division side Street has been arranged for Tuesday 20th January (7.45pm).