AFC Fylde respond to "inaccurate information" by explaining late postponement against Notts County

Much deliberation on the Mill Farm pitch ended with the Fylde v Notts County match finally being postponed at 6.50pm Picture: AFC FYLDE

Time ticking away for AFC Fylde admits boss Jim Bentley ahead of Notts County cl...

The same fixture had been called off five weeks earlier, also because of a waterlogged pitch.

Fylde stressed that the pitch had been covered and had passed pitch inspections on Tuesday, the first by a local referee at lunchtime and then by match official Stephen Copeland at 3pm.

Further rain and hail after the covers had been removed at 5.30 sealed the match's fate, though the decision was only announced at 6.50.

Fylde have stated that they were happy for the match to go ahead but had to respect Notts County's concerns over player safety and the final decision of the referee.

Coasters boss Jim Bentley said: "We are very disappointed. We wanted to game on and have done everything to get the game on. The groundstaff had been here since 5am.

"We wanted to play because it was a chance to bounce back from Saturday (when second-bottom Fylde lost 5-1 at Dover Athletic). With our fixture backlog and cup games it was important we did everything we could because we need to get games played.

"From my point of view, we wanted to play but the referee has called the game off. We respect his decision but we're sorry for everyone who turned up.

"We trained straight away afterwards and now we plan for Saturday's big cup game (at home to Harrogate Town in the FA Trophy quarter-finals). The groundstaff will be doing all they can but we're in the hands of the gods."