TORRENTIAL rain on Saturday meant Chester City's scheduled Coca-Cola League Two home match against Grimsby Town was postponed.
The Deva Stadium pitch was unplayable due to several large pools of water and despite the strenuous efforts of the ground staff, the decision to cancel the match was inevitable.
Match referee Mr Gurnan Singh, who officially called the game off at 1.35pm, said: "I had no alternative. The pitch had pools of water on it. The pitch markings had virtually been obliterated by the rain, and the terracing where the away supporters would have been accommodated, was flooded, and consequently could not be used."
Singh added: "In the interests of safety for both sets of players, I feel postponement of the game was the only option open to me."
Chester have moved quickly to try and reschedule the game. Club secretary Tony Allen has applied to the Football League to try and have the match rearranged for tomorrow evening.
"We are keen to play the game as soon as possible, and hopefully the league will give us a positive response to our request on Monday," said Mr Allen..
City manager Keith Curle added: "We have had a good start to the season, and we would naturally like to maintain the momentum.
"Unfortunately, the decision to cancel the match on Saturday was inevitable. It would have been dangerous to have played on that pitch and players safety must be paramount."
If the match is rescheduled for tomorrow, Chester will be without Maltese central defender Luke Dimech whose side meet Northern Ireland in a friendly on Wednesday.
Keith Curle will step up his search for a goalkeeper and a wide midfield player this week. "I have a number of options that I am pursuing, and hopefully at least one of those options will come to fruition in the next week or so," he said..
Chester visit Nene Park to face Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday.
