Wolves 2

Southampton 2

(abnd 81min)

Torrential downpours forced the abandonment of this relegation battle at a waterlogged Devonshire Recreation Club yesterday.

Visiting Southampton Rangers were in the ascendancy against ten-man Wolves when referee Lyndon Raynor ended proceedings in the 81st minute after judging the pitch to be unsuitable for play.

“The conditions became unplayable and I could not see either penalty spot,” Raynor said.

It is now up to the Bermuda Football Association to determine whether the match should be replayed or stand as it is.

“If a match is abandoned after 75 minutes the committee shall rule only in cases where it is to the advantage of the competition and shall record the score at the time of the abandonment as final,” Cal Blankendal, the Leagues and Competitions Committee chairman, said. “In all other cases, the match shall be replayed.”

Blakendal expects a final ruling on the match to be announced within the next 72 hours.

“A final decision will be made once all match documents have been received by the referee and match commissioner,” he said.

Understandably, McQuin Burch, the Rangers skipper, felt hard done by after the match was abandoned with his side holding a numerical advantage and the momentum in their favour.

Wolves were reduced to ten men after midfielder Troy Tucker received a second yellow card late in the second half for a late tackle on Willie Clemons, the Southampton midfielder.

“I do not think the field was playable, but the game was going in our favour so obviously it was a hard call for us,” Burch said. “They [Wolves] went down to ten men down and we could not have asked for anything better and had momentum. The weather ruined a good game.”

Michael Williams, the Wolves captain, said: “It was right the call because the pitch was like a lake out there and you could not do too much. A replay would be nice because we want those three points.”

Rangers threatened first with full back Maquel Tankard forcing David Trott, the Wolves goalkeeper, to save his well-aimed header at the near post.

But the momentum shifted with Wolves mounting wave after wave of pressure only to be denied by some of the worst finishing seen in the Premier Division this season.

Marcus Ming, the Wolves midfielder, was the worst offender as he spurned four gilt-edged chances in the first half that should have left Rangers dead and buried.

John Barry Nusum, the Wolves striker, also blew two glaring chances that a player of his calibre might be expected to bury.

These missed opportunities came back to bite the home team, as Khalil Symonds, the Rangers striker, lobbed a partial clearance into an empty net in the 35th minute after Trott had raced off his line.

With groundstaff having turned on the floodlights as ominous dark clouds gathered, the Wolves attack finally switched on in the second half.

Shaki Pearman, the Wolves midfielder, added parity to the scoreline in the 49th minute when his direct free kick from out on the right flank drifted inside the far post as Nusum applied pressure on Jason Smith, the Rangers goalkeeper.

Before the dust had settled, Smith was plucking the ball out of the back of the net again after Troy Tucker tapped in Nusum’s cross at the back post a minute later to put Wolves ahead.

With the pendulum swinging in their favour, Wolves wasted two golden opportunities to kill the game off, as Pearman failed to convert a breakaway and winger Nigel Lee had a point-blank header saved by Smith.

Once again the home team paid the price for poor finishing, as Dion Stovell, the Rangers striker, danced his way around in the box before firing a low shot past Trott in the 64th minute.

Stovell caused all sorts of problems on the right flank after swapping positions with Keedai Astwood, his strike partner, and could not believe his luck after brushing the woodwork with a shot from the tightest of angles.

Symonds chipped wide of the upright from yards out moments after Tucker received his marching orders for an unnecessary tackle as Rangers continued to ask questions.

But any thoughts they had of coming away with maximum points were cruelly dashed as the heavens opened up and flooded the pitch, leaving Raynor no other option but to halt proceedings.