Winter weather denies Forest Green the chance to move top of League Two

Forest Green Rovers were unable to move top of the league after their home fixture against Oldham was abandoned early in the second half with the score at 1-1.

The opportunity to move top of the table was presented to Mark Cooper’s side after leaders Newport County had their game against Southend called off at lunchtime.

The postponement in South Wales meant Rovers would go top if they could defeat an Oldham side that arrived at the New Lawn on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run away from home.

The game survived a pre-match pitch inspection by referee Robert Lewis, as heavy snow continued to fall throughout the warm-ups.

It was the home side that adapted better to the conditions in the first half, with Aaron Collins in particular showing a level of balance and poise that neither the icy pitch nor the Oldham defence could put a stop to.

Forest Green deservedly took the lead when Nicky Cadden stole the ball from opposition defender Dylan Fage and fired in a left-footed shot that Ian Lawlor could only parry into the back of his own net.

Cadden embodied the energy that characterised the hosts in the opening stages, constantly driving forward down the left-wing and providing inviting deliveries that his team-mates failed to make the most of.

The promotion-chasers continued to dominate following the goal, having two decent penalty shouts turned down before the quality of the game began to suffer due to a fog that engulfed both ends of the ground.

Oldham manager Harry Kewell constantly voiced his frustration at his sides lacklustre start, as striker Zac Dearnley cut an isolated figure in attack and top-scorer Conor McAleny rarely touched the ball in the opposition half.

His mood was drastically lifted on the stroke of half-time though, as after a loose ball fell at the feet of Dearnley some 40 yards from goal, the former Manchester United academy player drove to the edge of the penalty area before angling a shot into the far corner of the net.

A prolonged half-time interval was designed to allow visibility to improve, but it was obvious from the moment the second half began that this game would not reach a conclusion.

A scrappy ten minutes of hopeful punts upfield and gruesome slide tackles through the snow was mercifully brought to an end when one of the referee’s assistants told Lewis that he could no longer see the opposite side of the pitch.

A brief discussion between the referee and the two managers was punctuated regularly by increasingly desperate pleas from the Forest Green players to play on, as hopes of spending the first weekend of the New Year at the top of the table disappeared in the thick Gloucestershire fog.

As a result of the abandonment of the match, the home side have dropped to third after Carlisle beat Walsall, Oldham remain 14th.

Forest Green manager Mark Cooper spoke out how his side wanted to play on despite the conditions:

“I can only speak for my staff and my players, we wanted to play, we prepared hard for the game. The pitch was playable, it’s still playable now, the referee just wasn’t keen on playing on.

There’s no fans (at the ground), we could have waited an hour to see what would happen. There’s no rush (to finish the game).”

Oldham Athletic manager Harry Kewell opened up on the referee’s decision to abandon the game:

“When the balls were going up in the air, you just physically couldn’t see them (in the second half). I think there was a ball that went out and boys were just playing on, there was a player that went down injured and no one really saw it.

“I think the referee made the right decision in the end.”

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