FOR JUST the second time this season, Whitchurch Alport’s players were forced to sit out a Saturday when heavy overnight rain put paid to their clash with St Helens Town. 

With Saints having spent six years playing on grounds they haven’t been able to call their own, they have spent much of this season as tenants of Prescot Cables – but they have lately been renting Ashton Town’s ground, Edge Green Street. 

Last week’s planned “home” game against AFC Blackpool was frozen off and was the only scheduled game in the North West Counties League to be postponed. 

So once the heavens opened in the early hours of Saturday morning, the prospects of hosting the current league leaders began to get slimmer with every millimetre of rain that fell.

 An inspection at 10am confirmed Saints’ worst fears and the postponement became inevitable, with one large area of the pitch in particular under a fair amount of water. 

With further rain forecast throughout the afternoon, the local referee was left with one of his easier decisions.

Although disappointed, Alport held a training session to keep the lads fit, and later in the afternoon some of the backroom staff and a handful of players went along to the Crewe v Cheltenham game at Gresty Road. 

Coach Steve May shared the disappointment of the rest of the staff that the weather had led to a change of plans.

“It’s one of those things,” he said. “It’s not bad really to get to the end of January and have only your second game of the season called off, is it? 

“It says a lot about our ground that we’ve not had a game postponed there this season.

“The positive that comes from the postponement  is it gives some of our lads a bit of a rest."

*For a full Alport round-up, see this week's Whitchurch Herald