Fourth time of asking for Cowdenbeath and Partick . . . but no-one knows when

Wednesday 27 February 2013

COWDENBEATH and Partick Thistle must surely have come to the conclusion by now that this fixture is jinxed.

Alan Archibald breathed a sigh of relief after the game his side were losing was postponed

Custom byline text:

Chris Jack

At the third time of asking, the pair met for their Irn-Bru First Division fixture at Central Park but they must come back for another try after the match was postponed with 20 minutes remaining.

The previous games had been called off due to frozen pitches, and those present thought it was third time lucky but with Cowdenbeath leading 2-1, the referee Craig Charleston called a halt to proceedings after a freezing fog fell on Fife and rendered the match meaningless.The decision to abandon the game came on 70 minutes but it could have been made far earlier, with fans unable to see the other side of the pitch, or even the ball at times, after a fog which had lingered prior to kick-off got worse and forced the players from the field."We spoke 10 minutes into the second half to let them know my concerns about the conditions deteriorating," Charleston said. "Unfortunately it got to the stage where my two assistants couldn't see me and I couldn't see them. The game would have been guesswork."We waited and waited to see if it would lift but it went the other way. There is too much at stake for both clubs to be guessing."The right call may have finally been made but that didn't raise the spirits of Colin Cameron, the Cowdenbeath manager who had seen his side take a 2-1 lead after Craig Moore netted a brace either side of Steven Lawless' first half equaliser for Partick. Despite poor visibility and playing conditions, the pair had served up an entertaining fixture but as fans voiced their displeasure, Charleston was left with no option."He asked us at half-time if we wanted to continue and I said it looked okay," Cameron said. "He said he was happy enough to play and I feel that when he called it off, the conditions were no worse to what they were at the start of the second half. Whether it had been 2-1 us or 2-1 them, if the conditions worsened then fair enough. It hadn't changed from the start of the second half and he deemed in playable at that time. I am disappointed. The players are disappointed because they got themselves into a great position."Cowdenbeath will feel aggrieved at their efforts going to waste but Thistle will breathe a sigh of relief after their title dreams emerged unscathed. They remain five points adrift of leaders Morton but face a hectic end to the campaign as they bid to fit another trip to Central Park into their schedule."It is not ideal for us, we are going to have backlog of games now," said the interim manager, Alan Archibald. "We were 2-1 down with 20 minutes to go so we will take it. I have no idea when we will fit it in. That is why we were keen to get the game on. There is a backlog now and it is a headache for us."Nobody knows what was going to happen, there were still 20 minutes to go in the game. Nobody has got a crystal ball. It just means we need to come back here next time and win."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Fourth time of asking for Cowdenbeath and Partick . . . but no-one knows when

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED