Anger at short notice given of postponement of Tyrone v Cavan game
The Tyrone v Cavan NFL Division One tie at Healy Park fell victim to the weather, but there was anger at the short notice, with the postponement call coming just 64 minutes before the scheduled throw-in time.
Meath referee David Gough called the match off after a brief pitch inspection, but by that time the Cavan team and supporters from both counties had already arrived at the Omagh ground.
Heavy rain which fell between 10am and noon left several pools of water on the surface, and it was clear long before the official pitch inspection that there would be no action.
The NHL Division 3A tie between Tyrone and Donegal which was to have been the curtain-raiser was switched to Carrickmore, but that too was called off due to an unplayable pitch.
“There’s at least seven visible puddles on it but about 40% of the pitch is under water. It’s what you can’t see is just as dangerous as what is there, so it would be unsafe for any of the players to be playing on it,” said referee Gough.
“The safety of the players is paramount here today, so we will just call it off and leave it for Croke Park to make the decision on when they will replay the game.”
Tyrone PRO Eunan Lindsay said both games had looked likely to proceed prior to the downpour.
“Up as far as ten o’clock this morning, it looked to all systems go, and the club here were confident that they could have taken two games,” said Tyrone PRO Eunan Lindsay.
“But the strength and the length of the shower left puddles on the pitch in several places, and it was just a case of, in the interest of player safety, David Gough made the right decision.”
