Chatham Town were left frustrated by a late postponement last Saturday that the home team weren’t happy about either.

Kevin Hake’s side were due to face fellow high-flyers Wingate & Finchley and were an hour away from kicking off when the decision was made to postpone the Isthmian Premier Division fixture.

Chats had been confident that the game would go ahead and with plenty of fans also making the trip, there was disappointment all round when the referee called the game off shortly before 2pm.

The home side’s official X account called it an “unbelievable” decision and that the two teams - who had agreed the pitch was playable - were shocked, adding that the referee didn’t give a reason to either manager.

Temperatures had risen slightly on Saturday after a week of freezing conditions.

“It was disappointing that the game Saturday wasn’t played as the ref deemed the pitch unsafe at such a late time,” sad Chats boss Hake.

“Both sets of managers wanted to play the game but the ref had other ideas.

“We would never do anything that would endanger our players and in my opinion, the pitch hardness was no different to playing on a summer’s day.

“The pitch has been inspected at 11 am by a qualified referee so we thought we were good to go.

“It did leave a sour taste in the mouth especially as we saw Wingate & Finchley training on the pitch as we left, which they felt safe in doing.

“Due to the lateness a lot of our supporters had made the journey as well so I feel for them also.”

Chatham arranged a friendly game on Tuesday night against Redhill to warm the players up for this weekend’s action, naming a trio of trialists in their starting XI alongside their regulars.

Goals from Dean Beckwith and Ashley Nzala put the Chats two up at the break and they completed a 4-0 win as Kareem Isiaka and Freddie Price scored in the second half.

Chatham are at home this Saturday against Canvey Island and return to the Bauvill Stadium on Tuesday night when they host Hashtag United.

Hake said: “Canvey Island are on a good run of form and we will be looking to avenge our close defeat to them earlier in the season.

“We had a friendly against Redhill because we wanted to keep the lads sharp and take the opportunity to look at a few new faces.

“It’s the first of two home games at the Bauvill as we have Hashtag on Tuesday so at least we need to put in some good performances as we approach the last third of the season.

“Our home form is very important if if we are to continue our fight for promotion so it will be interested to see how we do as everyone seems to be dropping points as the pressure continues to rises as the season goes on.”

Chatham’s away match against Wingate & Finchley has been rearranged for next Tuesday (February 6).