Merthyr Town have been caught up in a Buildbase FA Trophy row and as a result their EvoStik Southern League fixture against Weymouth has been postponed.
The fixture, scheduled for the MetCoaches Stadium in Merthyr, was called off because of Weymouth’s trophy clash with Needham Market.
But Suffolk club Market then withdrew from the competition because they faced a second trip to Dorset.
That is a near 500 miles round trip Market boss Richard Wilkins has hit out at the roles played by the Football Association and also Weymouth FC which he says led to his club’s reluctant decision to withdraw from the FA Trophy.
The trophy tie at Weymouth was postponed just under 90 minutes before kick-off due to heavy and incessant rain leading to a waterlogged pitch.
Market had travelled down to Dorset the previous night and were at the Bob Lucas Stadium when the game was called off.
The match was rescheduled for Tuesday evening, which Needham Market felt was ‘unreasonable’ given the fact that their players would again have had to request time off work from their respective employers at short notice.
The Suffolk club wanted the match to be played this Saturday or even the following Saturday, but the Football Association turned down their request.
““We have not withdrawn from the competition, rather we have been forced to withdraw,” said Wilkins.
“Our hands are tied. The letter the club sent to the FA is the 100 per cent the truth. They are the facts laid down.
“We have lads who work on building sites who just can’t get a day-and-a-half or two days off work, just like that. They would get the sack.
“We also have lads who work in retail. It’s the worst and busiest week of the whole year and you can’t expect them to be taking days off work.
“It is all totally unrealistic and totally unreasonable at this level of football.
“There has been no commonsense shown on behalf of the FA.
“If the situation was the other way around and that happened to Weymouth I am 100% sure that Needham would have offered them another Saturday date.
“Weymouth say that if Saturday’s game had been a draw, then they would have come to ours for the replay on the Tuesday, but that’s totally different because they knew that might happen. They would have been ready and prepared.
“Our situation is very different. The circumstances are totally different.
“So I think it’s the right decision for us to have made. The FA have not acted on our advice and not shown any commonsense.
“It took seven hours for us to get down to Weymouth – that was what it took on the way down (Friday) and on the return trip on Saturday.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow and it’s left a bad taste in the mouth.”
Weymouth director of football Paul Maitland says: “We have every sympathy for Needham Market’s predicament, but we went in to the competition fully aware of the rules and requirements.
“We would like to state publicly that we made plans for a journey to Needham as well as a journey to Merthyr or even the home rearranged game with Needham if they decided to carry on in the competition.
“Our scheduled league away game in Wales at Merthyr has been called off, despite our willingness to travel and through no fault of Merthyr, who have also been impacted by these events.”
The Martyrs v Weymouth match will be rearranged for the New Year.
Weymouth will now face Workington Town or Ramsbottom United away in the Buildbase FA Trophy on Saturday, January 12.
Merthyr Town’s remaining fixtures in December
December
Tuesday 18 v Weymouth (home)
Saturday 22 v Chesham United (home)
Wednesday 26 v Frome Town (away)
Saturday 29 v Swindon Supermarine (away)
Merthyr Town are offering half season tickets valid January 1.
The cost has been based on the nine home games for season 2018-19 from New Year’s Day, but should Weymouth be involved in a replay of their FA Trophy game our home fixture due on Tuesday, December 18 will not go ahead.
That would mean the half season ticket would cover 10 matches.
The price of half season tickets are:
Adult (including Ownership) £110
Adult (existing Owner) £90
Senior (including Ownership) £90
Senior (existing Owner) £70
Student £45
Junior (u16) £5
Please contact Phil Mack via email on philmack@merthyrtownfc.co.uk