I HAD just reached the end of my road when I heard that Worcester City’s match against Gloucester City had been called off.

A few more minutes last Saturday and I would have been well on the way to Aggborough for the Conference North derby.

Some weren’t quite so fortunate. Many fans were either already in transit or at the ground enjoying a pint.

To be told barely 90 minutes before kick-off that it was a wasted journey because the pitch was frozen must have grated somewhat — particularly given that the surface had been passed fit just a couple of hours previously.

It was all a bit farcical and once again brings into focus the issue of inspections and matches being called off at short notice.

Such situations anger fans and leave clubs open to criticism, as City have found to their cost already this season.

On this occasion, the club played it by the book and still found themselves in the firing line.

They were the victims of the seemingly ludicrous situation where one person says the pitch is fine and another says it isn’t.

City aren’t the first club to befall this recipe for disaster and they won’t be the last.

Briefly, upon being told by the groundsman of landlords Kidderminster Harriers that the pitch needed a morning check, the Blue and Whites called in a local referee.

His decision was that the pitch was playable. In the meantime, City had placed an announcement on their website informing fans that it was game on. Contact had been made with Gloucester and the visitors agreed to travel.

However, when the match referee arrived from Liverpool he disagreed with the initial decision and called the game off, citing areas of the ground still being frozen.

Which begs the question — what is the point of calling in a local referee if they hold no sway over the designated official?

More to the point, if the pitch was deemed ok mid-morning, what had changed between then and 1.30pm?

Whether City and Kidderminster should have covered the ground given its patently borderline state is another debate.

What matters here is that two people looked at it and came to different conclusions.

While it comes down to an opinion, wouldn’t it be easier to just trust the judgement of the local referee and abide by it?

That way, the call is made early and there is less danger of fans making unnecessary trips.

If it turns out to be the wrong call, as it appears to have been here, someone is at least accountable.

But giving the main official chance to postpone a match when they arrive is a risky ploy.