Oxford United fixture falls victim to the snow (From The Oxford Times)

Oxford United fixture falls victim to the snow

7:36pm Friday 18th December 2009

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League leaders Oxford United have a blank weekend after Friday night's Blue Square Premier game at Cambridge fell victim to the bad weather.

The heavy snow that was predicted for Cambridgeshire on Thursday night duly arrived, and made referee Keith Hill's pitch inspection at 10am a formality.

Oxford United secretary and general manager Mick Brown said: “ Keith Hill wasn't the designated match official, but with travelling difficult, it made sense to call in a local ref. He lives 15 miles away and even he had a difficult journey.

“There were 4-6 inches of snow on the pitch and surrounding areas, and it was treacherous around the ground.

“And with further snow forecast and the temperature not likely to rise above freezing, it was an easy call to make.”

The postponement came well before the team or any fans would have set off.

There is no new date for the game, but Brown said he was likely to speak to his Cambridge counterpart next week to see what blank dates there are in the New Year.

Cambridge are due to visit Oxford on January 26 anyway, so the rearranged date for the match at the Abbey Stadium seems more likely to be from February onwards.

Tickets purchased for last night's game will be valid for the rearranged fixture.

Probably the most frustrated player in the Oxford United camp at postponement is skipper Adam Murray.

His one-match ban, for accumulating five yellow cards, now carries forward and he misses the Boxing Day game at home to Rushden.

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