HOLLAND FC chairman Mark Sorrell admitted being bitterly disappointed following the postponement of an FA Cup tie on his new pitch at the W&S Scaffolding Community Stadium.

Neighbours FC Clacton had been due to play Kirkley and Pakefield in an extra preliminary round replay there on Tuesday night.

The tie was switched to Holland because of ongoing pitch problems at the Rush Green Bowl.

But the replay ended up being called off at the 11th hour, because the referee deemed the surface unplayable.

He said there were stones on the pitch which made it dangerous to play on.

However, Sorrell said: “To say we were disappointed would be an understatement.

“A great deal of time and expense has gone into that pitch and we’re extremely proud of it.

“I think you’d be hard-pushed to find a better playing surface in the area.

“We’ve obviously had some heavy rain recently and the pitch had just been cut, which is why a handful of very small stones materialised.

“But we’re only talking a few, which could have been cleared in minutes.

“Under FA rules, clubs are supposed to be given time to make any adjustments to the pitch if the referee deems it necessary.

“But that option wasn’t given to us on Tuesday.

“We could have sorted the problem straightaway and there’s certainly no way the game should have been called off.”

Holland have already played two Thurlow Nunn League games on the pitch, including one on Saturday, when they thrashed Newbury Forest 5-0.