Tis: It’s hard to argue with it

Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale says he has no complaints after referee Brett Huxtable abandoned the Boxing Day fixture with Forest Green Rovers.

The sides played out a goalless first half in difficult conditions with the ball often unable to roll without being caught up in the surface water caused by heavy rain.

And for safety reasons, the referee decided that match should be abandoned and played at a later date.

Asked if he could have any arguments about Huxtable’s decision, Tis said: “No, not at all. He has to make his decision, and he made it. It’s hard to argue with it when you can see the floodlights reflecting off the water. It’s a very wet St James Park.

“The referee made his choice, I think he was primed for it himself before the game started, I think he was ready for it having seen the forecast.”

The full club message regarding tickets for the re-arranged match is HERE

Tis also praised the players for the first half performance as they battled against a determined Forest Green side, and explained that it is important to play a particular way when the conditions are tough.

He continued: “It was a highly unusual game, with the surface as it was. I thought the players did really well, we created some really good chances and they were ready for the second half.

“The ball has to be in their half more than ours, don’t fall over and stick it in the mixer and that was what today was about."

With the match now to be rescheduled it will add to what is already a congested fixture list for the Grecians, but Tis said his side can have no complaints and will do their best going into the second half of the season.

He said: “You play the game in front of you, we accumulate as many points as we can on the way.

“We may have lost our third place today because of other results. We are ready to go for the second half of the season, we have a good squad of players and maybe we can do some business in January.

“We can do nothing about the weather, it seems every time we play here it chucks it down with rain, compared to last year where it was the opposite. We got through the winter with hardly any mud on the pitch.

“We have two games coming up, Barnet and West Bromwich Albion, we’ve got to hope the groundsman can do their best on what is a very old-fashioned football pitch.”

Click HERE for Tisdale's complete reaction.