Fareham boss baffled by postponement

Stone just couldn’t understand why the Wessex League premier division encounter with Lymington Town at Cams Alders was called off by the referee.

The latest postponement means the Reds have not hosted a home fixture in nearly five months.

‘We were all changed and ready in the changing room to go out for the warm up,’ said Stone.

‘Then there was a knock on the door and we were told the ref had called the game off.

‘I thought it was a wind up.

‘One small corner of our pitch was a little soft but there was no standing water.

‘The rest of the pitch was like Wembley.

‘We even had a Wessex referee come in during the morning for a pitch inspection and he said it was fine.

‘At this rate we are never going to get a game on because we have just had four-and-a-half clear days with no rain.

‘We have not played a home game in nearly five months and it is crippling us.’

Horndean suffered similar frustration when the referee deemed their Five Heads Park pitch unsafe and called off their top-of-the-table clash against Sholing Sports.

Two goalkeeping errors cost Moneyfields as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Whitchurch United.

Dan Woodward gave the city club an early lead after five minutes but the home side levelled with a corner that flew straight in.

Five minutes from the end, hesitation from visiting goalkeeper Joe Hunt ended in a penalty which the hosts tucked away.

‘Joe has been great for us and is only 18 years old,’ said manager Dave Carter.

‘He is a good prospect and at his age is going to make the odd mistake.

‘We played well and I thought their penalty was very harsh.’

AFC Portchester were guilty of dropping more points at home in a 1-1 draw with Andover Town at Wicor Rec.

The visitors took the lead from a set piece before Jason Parish popped up with an equaliser.

‘It was a hard game on a difficult pitch,’ said Royals manager Graeme Rix.

‘We have to start taking our opportunities when they come along.’