Chesterfield has been cruelly denied the chance to stage today's home game against Charlton Athletic after overnight temperatures in the North Derbyshire area plummeted down to -10.
The pitch at the B2net Stadium had successfully passed a first inspection on Friday but a further inspection by match referee Colin Webster (Tyne & Wear) on Saturday morning revealed that, in the interests of player safety, the match could not go ahead due to the frozen pitch.
Match referee Colin Webster (centre) calls the match off
Although the pitch had been covered overnight, the extreme temperature meant that the limits of the frost covers were exceeded to such an extent that the chance of it recovering ahead of kick-off time was considered most unlikely with the news that ambient temperatures forecast for the rest of the day were unlikely to rise above freezing.
CFC stadium manager Colin Nellist said: "We are very disappointed after all the hard work put in by the ground staff but the extreme overnight temperature was the one aspect we had no control over."
Sunny but too cold
"If the match had been played on Friday it would have gone ahead so it was right to make a further assessment today but unfortunately we have been thwarted by the overnight weather and we are sorry for the obvious disruption this has now caused."
A new date for the match has still to be arranged.
The club superstore will be open until !2 noon.
Friday Update
The B2net pitch has passed an initial inspection by Premier League match official Glenn Turner, brought in by the Football League to make an assessment.
Although Chesterfield's game against Charlton Athletic goes ahead much will now depend on the overnight weather, particularly the overnight temperatures.
A further assessment will be made on Saturday morning by the match referee.
B2net pitch Friday pm
Glenn Turner said: "My primary concern is the safety of the players and at the moment the pitch is playable.The match referee will need to make an assessment on Saturday depending on what happens overnight."
The nets are up and the overnight covers are on
The groundstaff will be re-covering the pitch overnight and it will be a case of fingers crossed that the weather remains kind.
