But there will be no Sky coverage, which means the Cumbrians will miss out on a £100,000 payout. The £25,000 compensation payment to Hartlepool will not now be made and would not have been made even if Sky had covered the re-arranged game. The winners will meet Leeds United on January 4. Despite the best efforts of almost 100 volunteers yesterday to try and get the pitch ready, night time temperatures of -5 meant the surface was deemed unplayable by Northampton official Peter Walton when he inspected it at 4.30pm in front of the Sky cameras. An earlier inspection by Barrow official Mike Pike had been inconclusive, but hopes that a combination of hay bales, plastic sheeting and industrial heaters would thaw the pitch out were eventually dashed. Controversy was sparked after the postponement when it emerged that a Nottinghamshire firm had been in contact with United to organise so-called "frost proofing" of the pitch last week. Long term weather forecasts had indicated much milder temperatures than those that hit Carlisle in midweek and the decision was taken not to call them in. The club brought in sheeting and heaters on Wednesday but they were caught napping when temperatures plunged and the uncovered pitch froze up. Scunthorpe officials today insisted they had been in touch with the club over the pitch last week and had even offered to bear the cost of protecting it, but to no avail. Both clubs miss out on the Sky windfall but United will still be hoping for a decent attendance on Monday. Any tickets bought for the match can be used on the night or exchanged for a ticket to another home game later in the season but United will not be offering any refunds. Chairman John Courtenay admitted he was surprised the referee called the game off after all the effort that had been put in. "I definitely think the majority of people here thought the pitch was playable and the amount of effort that went into it was all for nothing. We weren't budgeting on having a Sky game. We got lucky and it would have been of real importance to the club. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so we'll just have to get on with it," he said. Meanwhile, Carlisle take on Rushden and Diamonds in an important league clash tomorrow with manager Roddy Collins defending his decision not to fine striker Richie Foran following his sending off against Wrexham last week. The news came after strong criticism of the player by fans including some who called in to Radio Cumbria after the match. Collins showed his disdain for them when he suggested that "maybe they should make a donation to charity" instead of ringing up to criticise players. Collins said Foran was totally committed to the club and had already turned down an offer to join a First Division club in order to stay at Brunton Park. Cup-tied Leon Osman, Mark Hudson and Craig Farrell will all be available for the trip to Nene Park after all three would have missed the Scunthorpe replay. Ambitious Rushden, managed by former England midfielder Brian Talbot are currently in second place in the league table behind Hartlepool and closed the gap to just one point last week. Picture from News & Star |
