Town semi-final now likely to be Saturday
FOOTBALL
STRATFORD Town now look set to play King's Lynn Town in the Evo-Stik South Premier Central play-off semi-final on Saturday - after a FOURTH change of date.
The Southern League had announced first thing this morning that the fixture would be played on Sunday.
But King's Lynn hosts a big running race on Sunday, the ASICS Foundation Gear 10k, which means the streets will be closed for the bulk of the day.
Instead, the match will be moved to Saturday, kick-off 3pm, subject to confirmation from the FA and the Southern League.
Town boss Thomas Baillie said it had been a crazy week and he just wants to get the match played.
"My head's fried by what's gone the last few days," said Baillie. "What a mess. It's been a helluva week.
"We were told the game was on Sunday this morning but surely somebody would have checked with King's Lynn. Their chairman phoned me up and said there's a big race on the same day and all the streets are closed from 9am to 3pm and there's no way the police would let it be played.
"I've never known anything like it."
The four days of confusion began when Town faced an investigation over fielding an ineligible player, with the league then calling off the Town trip to King's Lynn and then the Stourbridge v Alvechurch semi 'in the interests of fairness' on Wednesday.
They were then rearranged for Friday; then called off. Then switched to Monday in an announcement made this morning. But the Southern League then requested the FA move the super-final - the decider between the Southern Premier play-off winners and their Northern Premier play-off winners - because it would have been unfair the Northern Premier side would have a whole week to prepare while the Southern sides faced three games in six days.
Instead an emergency meeting of the FA Alliance Committee ruled the semi-finals would be moved to Sunday 5th May.
A lunchtime statement from the Southern League had said: "The Southern Football League requested that the Super Play-Off Final is rescheduled from Saturday 11th May 2019.
"The matter was considered at an emergency meeting of the FA Alliance Committee this morning who reached the decision set out below: The Southern Football League are instructed to play the Evo-Stik League South Premier Division Central Play Off Semi-Finals on Sunday 5th May 2019, and the Final on Wednesday 8th May 2019.
"The Super Play-Off Final will be played on Saturday 11th May 2019."
