Crawley announce last-minute postponement of League Two play-off against MK Dons
Crawley Town have confirmed their League Two play-off semi-final first leg against MK Dons has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The match was due to kick off at 3pm this afternoon, but a late call was made at 11:15am due to the playing surface.
The match will now be replayed on Tuesday 7 May with a 7:30pm kick-off.
A statement from the club read: “Crawley Town Football Club is disappointed to announce that this afternoon's Sky Bet League Two Play-Off Semi-Final first leg has been postponed due to a waterlogged surface at the Broadfield Stadium.”
While referee Ross Joyce explained the logic behind the decision: “I was called in this morning at 9:15am, they said there were some concerns with the playing surface, the rain overnight was more than was predicted. When I arrived here, it was clearly evident that this game was severely in doubt.
"There's been a lot of rain in terms of on the pitch. You can see that it's waterlogged. We spent some time with the groundsman and the team, we spoke to MK Dons when they arrived as well to look at the possibilities, could we delay kick-off?
“Unfortunately, due to the rain, it’s still coming down very heavy. Absolutely no chance of the game taking place. We had to make that difficult decision. We’ve spoken with the groundsman, tomorrow evening, there’s every confidence that the game will be fine. The conditions are more favourable this evening into tomorrow, it's supposed to be dry.
“We've got a lot of resource here to get the water off the pitch. We're more than confident we'll be fine for tomorrow evening. It's just unfortunate of all the days this week, it's the only day that's wet. We've been undone by over an inch of rain and it's paid its price for today.”
Images from Sky Sports showed staff inspecting the pitch with puddles inside both penalty areas.
The second leg of the tie, originally scheduled for Thursday 9 May, will now take place on Saturday 11 May at 7:45pm.
MK Dons fans reacted angrily to the news, with many already on their way to Sussex for the match.
One fan on X, formerly Twitter, labelled the move “embarrassing”, while another called it “pathetic”.
Many fans also raised the issue of travel costs, with one stating: “84 pounds I've spent on a train down from Liverpool are you going to refund me?”
Crewe Alexandra will face Doncaster in the other League Two semi-final.
While the League Two play-off final at Wembley is set to take place on 19 May.
