A DONEGAL GAA team was left fuming today after traveling 100 kilometres for a game that did not go ahead.
Naomh Bríd made the long trek to Triagh-A-Locha for the AllSportsStore.Com All-County Football League Division Three game against Gaeil Fhánada.
However, the appointed referee, George Montgomery, was not present by the time both teams had finished their warm-up.
“We waited until 20 minutes to four and we were told that the referee who was meant to do the game was in Dublin,” a frustrated Naomh Bríd manager Sean Timoney told Donegal Sport Hub.
“The referee who was down to do the game said that he’d not been given word about the game.
“I got speaking to someone from the CCC and he said that a referee could be there in three-quarters of an hour. That was at 3.40, so it was going to be at least 4.30 when the game would start.
“We had four fellas going back to get their bus back Dublin so we had to leave.
“Both teams had togged out and done the warm-up. It’s so frustrating.
“It puts the whole thing assways again and means we’re in limbo again. They’ll have to shove this fixture in somewhere now again.
“It’s poor form that team travels for an hour and 50 minutes and no referee shows up.”
Timoney’s feelings are heightened by the fact that Naomh Bríd flew Paul McGrory back from England for the game.
The Naomh Bríd manager said: “We got Paul home for the game because, with a Championship quarter-final against Milford coming up, we wanted to get a settled team out on the field.
“We had a man back from England and four lads down from Dublin for nothing – and the worst thing is the CCC are going to pencil the game in so they’ll be expected to do all that again.
“We had to have a game against Naomh Colmcille shoved in last Thursday night, three days before we played in the Championship. The lads came down from Dublin to play Naomh Colmcille, went back to Dublin to work and were down again for the Championship game (a game in which Naomh Bríd defeated Buncrana 1-12 to 0-6).
[adrotate group=”53″]“My biggest gripe is that we’re doing the best we can and have never asked for a game to be put off and this happens. It’s so, so frustrating.”
The reserve fixture today went ahead with Naomh Bríd winning 0-9 to 0-4.
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