Mansfield’s FA Cup tie against Wigan became the first third-round match to be postponed due to a frozen pitch and Charlton’s trip to Preston soon followed.
Temperatures around the country continue to plummet, with Everton narrowly avoiding a further backlog, following the Merseyside derby’s postponement last month, as their tie with Peterborough went ahead after an inspection on Thursday.
On Saturday morning, the FA Cup tie between Leyton Orient and Derby was also postponed and as with all-League One tie Mansfield vs Wigan and Championship-meets-League-One contest Preston vs Charlton, it was pushed back to Tuesday 14 January.
About the first game to be postponed, Mansfield said in a statement: “Frost covers have been on the playing surface all week in an attempt to protect the pitch, however, with temperatures reaching as low as -7C in the early hours of this morning and not forecast to rise above freezing within the next 24 hours, an early decision has been made to postpone the game.”
In League One, scheduled matches between Northampton and Barnsley at Sixfields and Shrewsbury and Huddersfield were called off on Friday, while games at Blackpool (against Cambridge) and Stevenage (versus Burton) fell foul of the weather on Saturday morning
Elsewhere, Carlisle’s League Two match against MK Dons at Brunton Park was postponed on Friday, as was the clash between Barrow and Port Vale in the same division. On Saturday morning, Gillingham vs Fleetwood was axed before Grimsby’s clash with Notts County was controversially called off just 90 minutes before kick-off as the cold snap continued to play havoc.
Following a pitch inspection at Blundell Park, Grimsby announced on social media shortly before 11am that areas of the pitch had been deemed “unplayable”. “We apologise for the inconvenience the late call has caused for supporters of both clubs,” the club posted on X.
Other sports are also struggling, with Saturday’s scheduled racing at Kempton called off following a review of the course on Friday morning, while the meetings at Warwick and Wetherby had already been postponed along with Kelso’s Sunday fixture due to a frozen track.
Full list of postponed FA Cup ties
- Mansfield v Wigan – to be played on Tuesday, 14 January
- Preston v Charlton – to be played on Tuesday, 14 January
- Leyton Orient v Derby – to be played on Tuesday, 14 January
PA contributed to this report