Rochdale v Oldham Athletic – abandoned

Rochdale v Oldham Athletic – abandoned due to torrential rain rendering the playing surface dangerous - Anthony Elding swamped in the deluge

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Less than ten minutes into the local derby game at Spotland tonight the referee abandoned the game due to the torrential rain rendering the playing surface dangerous.

The players came off to a crescendo of boos from the stands as the crowd realised their night at the football was ending very prematurely, but at pitch side one has to ask the question why did the referee allow the game to kick off.

It was obvious an hour before the game that the surface was unplayable and manager Keith Hill spoke to our reporter before the players arrived on the pitch and expressed his serious concern about the state of the pitch.

Within minutes of the kick off, following a couple of very dangerous sliding tackles, Hill was speaking to his Oldham counter parts and the fourth official very firmly expressing his view that the game should be abandoned “or someone will get their leg broke”.

The fourth official spoke over the radio to the referee who came to the touchline and spoke to both managers and then called a halt to proceedings.

Supporters of both Rochdale & Oldham are urged to keep hold of their ticket from last night which can be used as proof of purchase for when the re-arranged fixture is announced.

After the game Keith Hill said: “The referee made the right decision.

"You don’t want to be judged on a result that could have gone either way due to the conditions of the pitch which wasn’t playable.

"The referee said it was becoming a farce and he needed to protect the player’s safety and there is no question that he made the right decision, the pitch was possibly playable two hours ago but it isn’t now.

"It was obvious through the warm up that the ball wasn’t moving correctly and it was showing no signs of easing off. When you look at the goalkeeper towards the end of the eight minutes, he was trying to bounce the ball and it wasn’t bouncing so it was the correct decision but probably at the wrong time.

"We want a fair and even contest and that wasn’t going to happen.

"The only question that could by pointed at the referee is should the game have started? He thought it was playable and wanted to give it a go. Was he right to do that? I’m not too sure.

"The back passes that pulled up short, we could have scored from one, and they could from the other.

"I think it was a unanimous decision from myself and Paul (Dickov).

"I think the only question was the timing, could it have been done half an hour, an hour earlier?

"We are looking to the referees to get the games on at all costs which hasn’t happened tonight.

"You couldn’t see the lines before kick off so it would have been difficult to decide if the ball was in or out”

Oldham manager Paul Dickov echoed Hill’s comments: “Right decision, wrong time.

"I don’t know why we started the game when the pitch was like that at 6 o’clock when we got here. The pitch never changed from then right up until kick off and the forecast was for it not to change.

"The referee tried to give the fans a chance to see that the ball didn’t roll but it didn’t roll at 6pm so I feel he should have stopped the fans from travelling in the chucking down rain and getting wet through.

"It was the right decision but we knew it was going to happen at 6 o’clock.

"Everybody was looking forward to it but it will be played again.”