Fixture pile-up worsens for Holwell Sports, Melton Town and Asfordby FC

The fixtures continued to pile up for our football sides as winter's final flourish knocked out the entire schedule last weekend.
Corby Town's match at Carlton Town has been postponedCorby Town's match at Carlton Town has been postponed
Corby Town's match at Carlton Town has been postponed

The weekend may have been the first in meteorological springtime, but it was the worst affected of the season so far.

Postponements have been rife since Christmas as first ice and snow, and then weeks of rainfall, made pitches unfit for play.

Last week’s snow, coupled with Storm Emma and daytime temperatures plunging below freezing, ensured most matches were called off at least 24 hours ahead of the Saturday kick-offs.

Hopes that Sunday’s thaw may save Melton Town’s league match at Lutterworth Athletic on Tuesday were dashed when heavy rain late on Monday evening exacerbated a pitch already saturated by melting snow.

Town are also without a match this weekend due to a quirk of the fixture list, meaning by the time of their next match, on Saturday, March 17, they still face 11 league fixtures and a county cup semi-final before their final match of the season on April 28.

Shane Jarram’s side have played just four times this year.

Holwell Sports are even further behind in their league programme and had 16 fixtures still to play ahead of last night’s (Wednesday) scheduled trip to Graham St Prims.

The East Midlands Counties League season has been extended into early May, with Holwell facing midweek fixtures in all but two of the remaining weeks until the season finale on May 5.

And Saturday’s postponed home match with Arnold is yet to be rearranged.

Asfordby FC, currently chasing promotion in the Leicestershire Senior League, are even worse off, and have still to reach the halfway point of their season.

The Division One high-flyers have 17 of their league fixtures still outstanding with their final fixture due to be played on Saturday, May 19 - a month into the cricket season.

The situation could yet deteriorate even further, with early forecasts predicting a dry week, but further heavy rain on Saturday.