Football: Bank holiday gloom adds to fixture chaos

Holwell Sports, Melton Town and Asfordby each saw another two fixtures wiped out as the dismal winter weather carries over into spring.

The serial postponements over the last three months have caused fixture pile-ups, with the United Counties League this week joining the Leicestershire Senior League and East Midlands Counties League in extending their seasons into May.

While rarely affected by heavy rain, even Melton RFC’s schedule has gone beyond the season’s boundaries after their Midlands One East match at Huntingdon was called off for the second time on Saturday.

The two relegation battlers will now play the potentially decisive match a week after all of the other sides have hung up their boots for the summer.

With no end to the rain in sight, the borough’s cricket clubs also face a race against time to get their grounds fit for the new season.

The first round of Leicestershire and Rutland County League matches are just a little more than a fortnight away.

Among our football sides, Asfordby and Holwell are the worst hit, with Asfordby only just past the halfway point in their fixtures list as they seek promotion from Senior League Division One.

Jon Allsop’s side still have 14 of their 32 matches to play, a week into what was originally planned as the final month of the season.

They face eight fixtures before the end of April and a further six in May, including a spell of five games in 10 days.

Holwell, meanwhile, face an equally intensive schedule before their league season ends on May 7.

They are due to cram in nine league games in 23 days this month - at an average of one every two-and-a-half days - and then play their final three games in six days, weather permitting.

They also have to factor in a League Cup semi-final against Radford, yet to be arranged, and potentially a cup final.

Melton, meanwhile, will also be playing twice a week for the rest of the season as they fit their remaining nine league matches into 29 days.