Grays Athletic FA Cup tie abandoned as floodlights fail again

FOR the second week running, the lights went out on Grays Athletic as tonight’s FA Cup first round replay with Carlisle was abandoned after just 20 minutes for floodlight failure.

Last Tuesday’s scheduled Setanta Shield tie with Chelmsford never even got underway as the lights failed in the match build-up and tonight, just a couple of minutes after Grays had taken the lead through Sam Sloma the lights went out in one corner of the ground.

After around 30 minutes in the semi-darkness it was announced that the match had been abandoned for health and safety reasons and two coachloads of Carlisle fans embarked on a premature and long journey back to the far north west.

They are scheduled to return in 11 days as the game has been arearranged on the date of the second round, when the eventual winners should have been at home to Crewe.

Grays manager Wayne Burnett said: “It is very disappointing. For the first 20 minutes we were terrific.

“We scored a goal and were on top and then the lights go out and there’s not a great deal we can do about it.”

“Everyone is bitterly disappointed. In the FA Cup sometimes you only get one chance to beat a League side, possibly two but how many times can you say three?

“I would played the rest of the game in the dark as we were winning one-nil but the referee’s made the decision and everyone’s accepted it.”

Referee Dave Phillips said: “Once the floodlights went out we took advice from experts looking at the situation who told us there was no way they would come back on again, we made the decision to abandon the game. You can’t play with three floodlights.

“Both sides were disappointed, it was an important game for both of them but I think everyone accepted it.”