Raith Rovers winger Bobby Barr admitted the correct decision was made to abandon the match at Stranraer after revealing the conditions were the worst he has played in.
The game was called to a halt by referee Gavin Ross in the 37th minute, with the teams tied at 1-1, after torrential rain both before and after kick-off left the Stair Park surface completely waterlogged.
It meant a wasted 300-mile round journey for the Rovers fans, who had to endure treacherous road conditions due to flooding, but Barr believed common sense prevailed. “It was the right decision,” he said.
“I don’t know if the ref was waiting til they scored, but even at 1-0 he should’ve called it off because the water was just lying on the park.
“It’s probably the worst conditions I’ve played in. The park was good, but there was just so much water on it.
“It was getting to the stage where you had to kick it in the air to run with it.
“It was the same for both teams, but it was getting dangerous.”
Referee Mr Ross explained that he was left with no choice.
“My main priority as referee is to ensure the safety of the players and when we started the game at three o’clock the pitch was in good condition,” he said.
“But it continued to rain until we stopped the game at about 39 minutes past, there was water lying on the park, and it was no longer safe for the players.
“I didn’t want to wait until half-time. You could all see when the ball stuck just after we took that kick-off, and in my opinion that could have endangered the safety of the players.”
The abandonment meant Lewis Vaughan was denied his 18th goal of the season, having opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a trademark free-kick.
Stranraer levelled in the 36th minute through Scott Agnew but by that stage the pitch was completely unplayable.
Raith boss Barry Smith accepted that the correct decision was reached, but questioned the timing.
“It was the right decision, but the wrong time,” he said. “The referee has got a difficult job and he’s got to make a decision at some point.
“But for me, from the first minute the ball was holding up.
“It’s frustrating because I thought we were bang at it today and we handled the conditions up until they scored from a set-piece.”