Deferred match stirs up storm

The fate of Malone and Bective Rangers, as well as that of Wanderers, hinges on the Division Two game between Wanderers and Buccaneers which was originally rearranged for this afternoon but has now been postponed. The Belfast and Donnybrook clubs are seething over the way things have panned out.

The Wanderers-Buccaneers game was the only AIB League tie of 16 scheduled on Saturday to have been cancelled, due to the state of the Merrion Road pitch. Meanwhile, Malone and Bective were beaten by Galwegians and City of Derry, and with Galwegians securing the sole promotion place from Division Two it now means that the Wanderers' game is immaterial for Buccaneers, who will have the additional distraction of engaging Dungannon in the first leg of a Division One play-off next Saturday.

Not so Wanderers, who currently occupy the third last relegation place in Division Two and know that a win will propel them to safety (a draw would mean they go into a play-off with Ballynahinch). As things stand, Malone are in the play-off place while Bective are above the relegation threshold, but a Wanderers win would relegate Malone and oblige Bective to play Ballynahinch in a play-off.

The postponed game was originally rescheduled for this afternoon in Merrion Road. Last evening, however, a postponement was announced without a date being set for the game.

The former Wanderers' player and current club PRO, Ian Burns maintains that there were no underhand manoeuvres. He had notified the IRFU about his concerns over the Merrion Road pitch on Friday, and accordingly arranged a pitch inspection at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning at which Ned Cummins of the League's Ground Fitness Panel agreed to a postponement of the game. "We also had to consider Buccaneers' travelling arrangements," added Burns. Given the sun and drying winds, by 2.30 the Merrion Road pitch was probably playable.

Nor does the explanation cut much ice with either Malone or Bective. "We feel totally aggrieved," said Malone team manager Andy Todd. Louis Magee, the Bective president, said: "I'm very upset about it. I'm not happy at all. Every other match in Ireland was played, including games nearby in Anglesea Road and Donnybrook, and I cannot for the life of me understand how Merrion Road wasn't."