Dense fog brings a premature end to Caldy’s match against Harrogate

Dec 3 2008 by Our Correspondent, Birkenhead News

Dense fog brings a premature end to Caldy’s match against Harrogate

CALDY have been beating all comers of late, but they finally ran into an opponent they could do nothing about – the weather.

After 55 minutes of a tense and enthralling top of the table clash with Harrogate – in which both sides had the upper hand at times – referee Mr Fisher decided the fog which had shrouded Paton Field all day had become too thick for the game to continue safely.

The decision caused bemusement on both sides, particularly for Caldy who were showing signs of pulling away from the visitors and were just five minutes away from the result standing.

Captain Shaun Woof said: “It was strange because the fog didn’t seem any different from when we kicked off, but the referee had already called the captains together once.

“We both said we wanted to play on, but then someone said they couldn’t see the ball and that was the end of the game.”

He added: “Up to then the game was going well and we seemed to have the upper hand when we played at pace, so we will be confident when the match is replayed.”

Harrogate player-coach Mike Aspinall was also puzzled by the referee’s decision, saying he would have preferred to play to a finish.

“It was foggy when the ref called the game off, but it was just as foggy when we started,” he added. “When you get up for a big game like this, it is always disappointing not to go through with it. We were down, but not by many points, and we felt confident in what we doing, so it is a shame overall.”

Up to the abandonment, the two teams looked very evenly matched with Caldy having the upper hand in the scrums, but Harrogate bossing the line-outs.

However, Caldy’s back row had the edge in the loose, dominance which eventually saw Harrogate second row James Spencer sin-binned for persistently handling in rucks.

It also forced two kickable penalties which Gavin Roberts converted to give Caldy a 6-0 lead after 20 minutes.

A lovely cameo from Caldy stand off Ben Macpherson – when he caught his own chip ahead running back a kick – was kept alive by Andrew Soutar for number eight Sam Dickinson to eventually cross in the corner to make it 11-0.

However Harrogate hit back when a lovely miss-pass in the backs put winger John Dunne – a former Caldy junior, whose dad Bill is still club doctor – racing over wide out.

Stand off Cerith Rees missed the conversion and several penalty chances too as the Yorkshiremen strove for parity.

Roberts made him pay for his profligacy with a nonchalantly struck penalty on 45 minutes and Caldy looked to be pulling away, until the referee blew that early final whistle.