BREAKING NEWS - CONTROVERSY AS TOWN GAME IS CALLED OFF

The game had been originally given the go-ahead at 11.15am following a pitch inspection but at 1.15pm referee Damien Basketfield changed his mind and declared the game off.

It left both players and supporters - of whom many were still arriving at 2pm only to be told the news - frustrated.

"It's a joke - how can the referee make a decision like this and then change his mind later?" asked Town boss Colin Malone.

"I thought the game should have gone ahead," he added.

Basketfield decided that the pitch was too hard and therefore too dangerous for the game to go ahead.

Banbridge Chairman Andrew Cully was more diplomatic in his responce to the decision: "At the end of the day the referee's decision is final and we have to go with that," he said.

"It's disappointing for the fans who turned up expecting to see a game after hearing it was on originally but I guess it's not the people who stand around the fence who make the decision."

No new date has been set as yet for the re-arranged final.