Golds defeated in battle with snow

Golds did all they could to get Tuesday’s County League Division 2 game to take place as 20 members of the club, including managerial staff and players, attempted to get the snow off the Sportsfield pitch.

However, they were forced to admit defeat and the game was postponed – as were all of the scheduled County League games on Tuesday. That came after all of the programme was also called off on Saturday owing to the heavy snow on Friday.

Littlehampton boss Mark Bennett said: “There were 20 of us who turned up on Monday but there was just too much snow.

“We got the edges of the pitch done but there was nowhere to transport the snow in the middle of the pitch, so it just wasn’t feasible.

“We did try to get the game on but, unfortunately, we didn’t have the right equipment and we probably would have needed another 20 people helping out as well.

“The groundsman will try to brush the first layer of snow off this week but it is still quite deep in places.

“To have another postponement is frustrating but you can’t fight the elements and every team is in the same boat at the moment.”

The recent postponements leave Golds still with a miniumum of 21 matches to play. They are due to be at Westfield for a 1.30pm kick-off on Saturday and then host Southwick on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Bennett said: “We’re looking at playing every Saturday and Tuesday now and some Thursdays as well because we’ve got to hand the ground over to the cricket club at the end of April.

“We had hoped that the Westfield game would be moved to later in the season, when the clocks have gone back, so we could go there for a 3pm kick-off, as a lot of our players work Saturday mornings.

“That would have allowed us to, possibly, get a home game played this Saturday as we’ve got a lot of home matches to play. And we could struggle to fit all of them in now, especially for the reserve and youth teams.”

Bennett’s aim for the rest of the season is just to finish in the top three in Division 2.

Golds are second, four points behind leaders Newhaven, with four games in hand, and seven points ahead of fourth-placed Broadbridge Heath.

Bennett said: “That’s always been our number one priority– to finish in the top three.

“I’d like to get a couple more players in as well and I’ll keep trying but it’s difficult because no one has been playing recently.”