TUESDAY’S abandoned Hampshire FA Senior Cup quarter-final at Hartley Wintney has cost AFC Totton dear – in more ways than one.
Much to the Stags’ surprise the game was given the go-ahead following an afternoon pitch inspection at the Memorial Playing Fields.
But with Totton trailing 1-0, the referee halted proceedings at half-time due to a frozen surface.
It means the Stags slogging back to north-east Hampshire next Tuesday (January 31, 7.30pm) instead of making a rearranged league trip to Paulton Rovers.
To add injury to insult, they have lost Havant & Waterlooville loanee midfielder Alfy Whittingham after he slipped on what boss Louis Langdown referred to as “the ice rink at Hartley Wintney.”
Langdown said: “Why the game was ever on, I don’t know. It was never going to beat the freeze.
“I can’t fault Hartley Wintney for wanting to play, but when there were teams higher up the pyramid calling games off, it didn’t make sense to travel.
“It’s costly for us because we’ve had to put the Paulton league game back and we’ve lost Alfy in the process.
“He tried to turn on the frozen ground, fell over and twisted his ankle.
“We were short of players as it was for the Senior Cup and had to pitch in three 16-year-olds. We’re slowly running out of people to play in that fixture.”
Weather permitting, Totton will back in Southern One South & West action at home to Shortwood United on Saturday.
And with AFC Bournemouth loanees Curtis Young and Tyler Cordner both available, the third-to-bottom Stags are hopeful of fielding a strong-looking team.
“Nick Watts is struggling with a hamstring injury, but we should have a reasonable side to put out,” said Langdown, whose side still have an eight-point cushion separating them from the bottom two.
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