Peterborough United 'bitterly disappointed' as EFL Trophy game with Crawley Town called off just over an hour before kick-off

Posh manager Darren Ferguson (right) and Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsay (centre) on the frozen Posh pitch. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Peterborough United has said that it is ‘bitterly disappointed’ at the late postponement of Wednesday night’s EFL Trophy with Crawley Town.

News of the postponement did not reach club social media accounts until 6:25pm, just five minutes before the line-ups were due to be announced.

Two pitch inspections were held earlier in the day at 12:30pm and 2:30pm although neither were carried out by match official match referee Simon Mather, who made the final decision on Wednesday evening.

A club statement said: “Peterborough United have expressed frustration after the match referee has postponed the Bristol Street Motors Trophy fixture with Crawley Town due to a frozen pitch.

“The football club requested a pitch inspection at 12.30pm due to our concerns over the playing surface and the EFL arranged for an official to come down to the Weston Homes Stadium to inspect the pitch.

“That official communicated his findings with the EFL who requested another pitch inspection at 2.30pm.

“The same official inspected the pitch at 2.30pm and deemed the pitch playable. The match referee, on arrival at the Weston Homes Stadium, then expressed his concerns and made the decision to call the game off.

“The football club are bitterly disappointed that their concerns earlier in the day on the playing surface, the freezing temperatures and the predicted temperatures were not taking into consideration, which has led to this late postponement.

“We sympathise with supporters of both Posh and Crawley for this decision.”

It’s likely the match will be re-staged on Tuesday, January 16 as neither team has a scheduled fixture on that night, although the long-range forecast for next week is not good.

The quarter finals of the competition are due to be played on January 30 and Posh will know their potential opponents before they tackle Crawley as the draw staged on Friday (6.30pm) live on Sky Sports.

Posh can face AFC Wimbledon, Brighton Under 21s or Wycombe Wanderers.