Frozen pitches wreaks havoc on schedule but Slough sneak in friendly with Watford u21s

The cold weather this week has played havoc with the non-league fixture list, with matches called off in the National League and across the various divisions.

Maidenhead and Slough Town both managed to play – and win – their matches at the weekend with victories at Horsham and home to Eastbourne Borough respectively.

However, the big freeze led to the postponement of their midweek matches, with Slough’s clash at Chelmsford City the first to go because of a frozen pitch, and Maidenhead’s home game against Ebbsfleet United also called off because of the heavy frost.

Slough did manage to sneak in a mid-week friendly with Watford u21s at Arbour Park on Tuesday, with the Rebels coming from behind to draw the match 1-1. The young Hornets took the lead in the 13th minute, but Nnaemeka Anyanwu gave the home supporters something to shout about when he equalised in the 64th minute.

It was a calm finish from the youngster who received the ball centrally in the box, took a touch before placing the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

With player manager Scott Davies keen to get some minutes into the legs of players who haven’t featured that much recently, it was a good exercise for the Rebels and should set them up nicely for Saturday’s trip to bottom club Chippenham Town.

Maidenhead United don’t play again until Saturday week, when they host Enfield Town at York Road. The Magpies have a ‘bring a friend for free’ offer open to supporters for the match, and one lucky fan who takes advantage of the initiative will win themselves a half-season ticket.

Click here for details.

Further down the divisions, very little play was possible on grass pitches at least.

Marlow’s highly anticipated league clash with local rivals Flackwell Heath at Oak Tree Road on Saturday was called off on the Friday due to a frozen pitch. The Blues are set to return to action for the first time since their disappointing 4-1 loss to Beaconsfield on December 27 when they visit fourth placed Hertford on Saturday. It’s likely to be another tough game for Mark Bartley’s side who’ve now lost five of their last eight matches, a run that’s seen them fall to 16th in the Southern League Central Division table.

Flackwell sit just a point ahead of them in the division and they were also frozen out by the conditions with Tuesday’s mid-week trip to Hadley also postponed. Flackwell’s recent form has been more encouraging, with Chris Ayres’ side having won four of their last eight, but consistency has proved problematic this season. Last time out they cruised to a 3-0 win over Aylesbury United with first half goals from Juwon Akintunde (3'), Eli Grant (8') and Jack Shakespeare (34').

The Heathens are back at Wilks Park on Saturday for the visit of third placed Biggleswade Town.