Frozen pitch causes Charlton's trip to Walsall in League 1 to be postponed
Published: 14:34, 02 January 2010
Updated: 14:34, 02 January 2010
Charlton's trip to Walsall in League 1 joined the list of fixtures to be postponed on Saturday after a frozen pitch at the Banks' Stadium failed a midday pitch inspection.
Referee Andy Haines first inspected the surface at 9.30am, when he decided another inspection would be required at midday following some work by groundstaff.
Temperatures were due to rise during the morning and referee Haines was confident the game would get the green light.
However, despite intensive work and the use of heaters, an area of the pitch was deemed unsafe, so the game had to be called off.
Addicks boss Phil Parkinson was frustrated by the decision, but accepted it was made in the best interests of player safety.
He said: "The ref just felt there were areas of the pitch that weren't going to improve enough in time.
"We wanted the game on, as did Walsall, and both managers and everyone else were able to have their say, but ultimately the referee has to make a decision and it's his call."
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