Whitstable Town: Crowborough unprofessional and disrespectful calling off game at four o’clock

WHITSTABLE TOWN team officials claim opponents Crowborough Athletic were “unprofessional and disrespectful” towards their club after calling their game off within four hours of the scheduled kick-off.

Hosts Crowborough Athletic are in second-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table on 53 points from 26 games, just three points clear of the fourth-placed Oystermen.

“Our management and players would like to express our disappointment in last night’s game being called off at four o’clock,” said the team spokesman.

“The weather in Crowborough had been raining for two days, the rationale for calling the game off at four o’clock is somewhat unprofessional and disrespectful,” claimed the spokesman.

“We have had players take days off and finish work early for such an important game.

“Crowborough could not get a qualified referee until 5:30pm so called the game off themselves (claimed the spokesman), you would expect some sort of professionalism from a club like Crowborough.

“They gave Whitstable Town no prior warning or put no comment on their website of a pitch inspection time.

“What’s even more disappointing is the Crowborough spokesman said the pitch ‘is under water and had been all day from being rained on all day on Monday and it was still raining now.’

“Whitstable Town would like to thank the supporters and players for starting out on the journey before being turned around, some players starting from Dover and London.”

A Crowborough Athletic statement on their website said: “Rain wins out again before tonight’s game against Whitstable Town is off.  We’d thought we’d seen the end of Thursday night fixtures, but we were wrong.

“The Southern Counties East Football League fixture secretary has supplied a new date for the postponed game against visitors Whitstable Town and it will be played on Thursday 12 April.”

Scott Porter’s side are in fourth-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table with 50 points – four points behind leaders Sevenoaks Town, who have a game in hand.

The Oystermen must play 13 league games and a Cup Final before the 28 April deadline.

The Southern Counties East Football League should follow in the footsteps of the Isthmian (Bostik) Football League and re-arranged postponed fixtures within six weeks of the original date, thus preventing club’s to suffer from fixture back-logs and playing three games a week towards the end of the season.

Visit Whitstable Town’s website:  www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk