Yeovil Town secured their place in the 1st round of the FA Cup by beating W*ymouth on penalties on Tuesday night – I’m sure you’ve heard.
However, who the Glovers play hasn’t yet been decided after Yate Town and Dover couldn’t complete their own replay after floodlight failure.
The floodlights were fixed – specifically at 20:34pm (this matters) – but the game did not take place, Dover went home and will have to try again on a date yet to be confirmed – but likely, next Tuesday, 26th of October.
Yate Town were not happy releasing the following statement after the game…
“This evening we suffered a failure of two of the eight floodlight groups.
The facilities manager assisted by Jeff Michael (the manager’s dad) and Shaun Base all qualified electricians, diagnosed the problem and attempted a repair.
Both teams and the referee, in dialogue with the FA, agreed to delay KO as late as possible.
Decision points were initially set for 19:45 and 20:15 at which times the repair was ongoing.
The referee consulted with the FA, and agreed with both teams that if the floodlights could be repaired he would need to allow 30 minutes before KO for the teams and officials to warm up.
It was therefore agreed that if the floodlights could not be repaired and turned on by 20:30 the match would be postponed. At 20:34 the lights were fixed, the referee consulted with the FA to seek agreement that the match could go ahead, the FA confirmed this providing both teams were happy.
With a crowd of over 580 supporters, including some who had made the journey from Kent, the referee spoke to both teams to get agreement for the match to go ahead.
Yate were content to play, however Dover Athletic stated that it was past the 20:30 deadline and therefore they were not prepared to play.
We sincerely apologise to all supporters for the frustration they experienced this evening. We would also like to thank you all wholeheartedly for your patience and understanding and for remaining in high spirits despite the weather and the delay.
The FA direction is that the match will now have to be re-arranged, possibly later this week or next Tuesday.
We will let you all know as soon as a date is agreed. All tickets purchased this evening remain valid for the re-arranged game.”
@YateTownFC manager @paul_michael86 following tonight’s postponement due to floodlight issues . @bbcbristolsport @BBCKentSport pic.twitter.com/SYeHfHwLbw
— Pete Simson (@SimsonPete) October 19, 2021
If you don’t love the FA Cup after everything that happened on Tuesday night, then I’m afraid we can’t be friends…