Matlock Town v Ashton United has 50-50 chance of being on, say club officials

The town of Matlock may look more like Venice than anywhere else at present following the extraordinary heavy rainfall of the last week, but the message from Matlock Town officials is: “Don’t rule out our home game taking place on Saturday afternoon.”
Matlock's Causeway LaneMatlock's Causeway Lane
Matlock's Causeway Lane

Groundsman Richard Lomas rates the chances of the Gladiators taking on Ashton United in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the Buildbase FA Trophy as about 50-50 which is encouraging for local football fans at least.

Parts of the Proctor Cars Stadium pitch remain underwater, most notably in the corner on the Social Club side plus an area in the Town End half, but depending on the rainfall for the rest of Friday and overnight into Saturday lunchtime, Matlock believe there is a chance of the game going ahead.

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“The pitch is not as bad as we feared although we have made arrangements for an inspection to take place at 10 am on Saturday,” said a Matlock spokesman.

“The water levels on the pitch have been receding throughout Friday morning. The BBC forecast is for it to remain dry throughout the night so if that’s the case we have reasons to be optimistic about playing the game.

“We understand water was being released from the dams about lunchtime so we’ll need to bear that in mind but we’re keeping our fingers crossed everything will be okay. Richard and his team will be doing their best to get the game on.”

Meanwhile the Derbyshire FA has confirmed that the Gladiators outstanding Derbyshire Senior Cup tie at Borrowash Victoria will be played on Wednesday night, subject to what happens with the Ashton game tomorrow.

A draw or a postponement will see the Senior Cup tie postponed with the Trophy clash taking precedence, a game at either Matlock or Ashton being set for Tuesday night.