All around the outskirts of AESSEAL New York Stadium havoc was being wreaked by Storm Babet, to the extent that yesterday’s Rotherham United’s clash with Ipswich Town fell victim to the weather three hours before kick-off.
But within the confines of the Millers’ home, on a day of a non-stop, torrential deluge, the playing surface had held up perfectly.“It’s the best I’ve ever seen it,” said manager Matt Taylor. “The (artificial) stitching that happened a few weeks into the season has started to bed in with the natural grass.”
In the morning, there had been hope that the fixture would go ahead. However, the rising level of the River Don, the path of which snakes right by the stadium, became more and more of a concern.
“First things first, we’ve got to apologise to all the fans who’ve made the journey,” said Taylor
The apology wasn’t sparked by any wrongdoing by the club, it was just an expression of heartfelt regret that so many away supporters had been inconvenienced by a wasted near-400-mile round trip in hazardous conditions.
“We’re gutted,” Taylor said. “The Ipswich fans have travelled a long distance and were looking forward to a good game of football. It’s the safety concerns around the stadium that forced the game to be called off.”
The manager and his staff were already at the ground, a few players too. A message had been posted into their WhatsApp group chat advising them to make their journeys earlier than usual.
The boss had arrived only moments after the Don had begun to spread its damage around New York’s Don Street access area.
