THIS is the spot which spawned all the controversy in yesterday’s (Saturday) postponed FA Cup tie between Weston and Doncaster Rovers.
Despite both managers insisting they were happy for the game to go ahead, match referee Tim Robinson called off the tie in front of a packed house at the Woodspring Stadium just 20 minutes before kick-off, due to the condition of the small area of the pitch in front of the NK Stand.
Mr Robinson conducted a number of pitch inspections throughout the day in the build up to the game, and told the BBC’s Football Focus the pitch was ‘80 per cent playable’ shortly before 1pm.
The decision sparked anger from the travelling Doncaster fans, with a round trip from their home ground to the Woodspring Stadium a round trip eclipsing 400 miles, and one mounted the pitchside hoardings in an attempt to attack a photographer taking pictures of the away end.
Another made his way onto the pitch but was arrested and led away by police.
One witness told the Mercury: “The atmosphere did turn pretty nasty for a while after the match was called off, but credit to the police; they don’t get a lot of crowd trouble at the Woodspring, but they did a really good job controlling the Doncaster fans and calming the situation.”
Weston have announced the match will now be played on November 18, kick-off 7.45pm, with all tickets from the originally-scheduled tie valid.
The decision also means the Seagulls will be in the hat for the FA Cup second round draw live on BBC Two at 7pm tomorrow (Monday), which will again be broadcast live from the Woodspring Stadium. Weston and Doncaster will enter the draw as ball number 12.
The second round draw numbers in full:
1 Mansfield Town/Concord Rangers
2 Colchester United
3 Yeovil Town
4 York City/AFC Wimbledon
5 Walsall/Shrewsbury Town
6 Notts County/Accrington Stanley
7 Bradford City
8 Warrington Town
9 Eastleigh
10 Telford/Basingstoke Town
11 Southport/Dag & Red
12 WESTON/DONCASTER ROVERS
13 Peterborough United
14 Cheltenham Town
15 Dartford
16 Chesterfield
17 Wycombe Wanderers
18 Bristol City
19 Portsmouth/Aldershot Town
20 Gateshead
21 Sheffield United/Crewe Alexandra
22 Oxford United
23 Tranmere Rovers
24 Chester
25 Luton Town
26 Stevenage/Maidstone
27 Bury
28 Cambridge United
29 Rochdale/Northampton Town
30 Dover Athletic
31 MK Dons
32 Wrexham
33 Plymouth Argyle
34 Barnsley
35 Hartlepool United
36 Worcester City
37 Oldham Athletic
38 Havant & Waterlooville/Preston North End
39 Blyth Spartans
40 Scunthorpe United
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