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Derby County’s FA Cup match against Leyton Orient has been postponed due to the effects of the cold weather at the Gaugham Group Stadium in Leyton.
The pitch surface was deemed unplayable by referees on Saturday afternoon, meaning the match, which was due to start at 18:00 GMT, will now be played at a later date.
Orient issued a statement just hours before kick-off on Saturday.
It said: “The match has been rescheduled for Tuesday 14 January and will kick off at 19.45 GMT. Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date.
‘The O’s Vertu Trophy match against Stevenage has been delayed by seven days and will now take place on Tuesday 21 January (KO 7pm GMT).
‘The playing surface at E10 was covered from Thursday and was playable until Saturday morning, after colder than expected overnight temperatures caused areas on the south side of the pitch to freeze.
‘Referee Benjamin Speedie carried out a pitch inspection at midday. He said: “According to yesterday, the course was playable. Unfortunately, during the night the weather was colder than expected and in particular one of the areas of the goal froze. “When kickoff began, temperatures were going to drop back down to around -1, so the game had to be suspended due to the safety of the players.”
Leyton Orient chief executive Mark Devlin said: “We are very disappointed that today’s cup match cannot take place.” Our ground staff had worked very hard this week to take measures to cope with the low temperatures and yesterday afternoon we were confident that the match would go ahead.
‘Unfortunately, the night weather was colder than expected and a large part of the field froze, which will not receive sunlight today. “We completely understand the fans’ frustration and, although it was out of our control, we apologize for the inconvenience caused to both sets of supporters.”