Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Sand Gate: Pontefract Collieries manager Craig Parry said referee David Hunt disrespected his club’s volunteers and workers with the way he called off the game with Garforth Town
Craig Parry accused referee David Hunt of showing a “lack of respect” to Pontefract Collieries because of the way he postponed the derby clash with Garforth Town at 2.06pm.
There were extraordinary scenes as a wheelbarrow of sand – personally requested by Hunt a few minutes earlier – was being carted onto the pitch when the Mansfield-based official and his two cohorts, Wayne Gray and Antony Wingate, made a sudden decision to call off the fixture and make the 49 mile journey home earlier than planned.
The club’s volunteers and workers – employed by the Colls through their partnership with Mencap – had worked for hours on the pitch. Prior to ‘Sand Gate’, Hunt asked them to patch up three areas, which they duly did.
Parry was livid with him and said that Hunt had thrown their efforts back in their face and wasted tons of expensive sand.
“It is really disappointing because people have been working really hard since last night to get it on,” Parry told Non League Yorkshire.
“Look at the pitch now (2.30pm), we believe it is fine and playable. It is frustrating, especially when he orders more sand to go on the pitch and five minutes later calls it off (just as the wheelbarrow is going onto the pitch).
“Why even ask for the (extra) sand in the first place? Before that he asked us to sand three areas, the two goal-mouths and an area on the halfway line. We did that and you can see that the lads made it playable.
“I think the referee has shown a lack of respect. If I’m bluntly honest, I think his mind was made up before he’d walked through the door.
“The pitch was ready for a good game of football and that’s all we wanted.”
Referee David Hunt’s personally-requested wheelbarrow of sand heading onto the pitch just as the official is almost sprinting off to avoid a discussion
One of the goalmouths that was later patched up with sand
The area after sand was laid
Disappointing to have the ref deem today’s @PonteCollsFC v @TheGarforthTown game as ‘pitch unplayable’… particularly when compared to games that went ahead through last winter! 😕#bahhumbug pic.twitter.com/THg1neKTk5
— The Dribbling Code (@dribblingcode) December 30, 2017
Until this season, Pontefract’s pitch has notoriously struggled with the bad weather, but the appointment of a new groundsman has seen it slowly go from strength to strength.
Parry admitted that it is in the best state that it has been in for years – highlighting the infamous mud-bath clash with AFC Emley last season as an example of a game at Pontefract that was played in worse conditions.
“We get hammered every week for our facilities down here, but the pitch is actually in a good state today,” he said.
“The groundsman has done a great job.
“You can’t tell me it wasn’t playable. Let’s be fair, we’ve all seen it in worse states.
“If you look at the game with AFC Emley this time last year, it was ten times worse. There were ducks on it that day.”
We were told that a pitch inspection for midday was not required , so we took 2 trains to get to Ponte only to be informed around 2-45 That the game was off , to say the least I was gutted
Terrible really, that people had travelled from distance, I’m sure the referee would have been at the ground by 1.15 , so why did it take him so long to call it off. I have heard of this referee before I think , is he the tall cocky youngish bloke he was referee I think when I went to a game maybe at Grantham but that maybe wrong but down that area, and it was all about him. Very frustrating for the for the people who work so hard in non league.