THE weather was the only winner over the weekend as the freezing conditions completely wiped out the Blackburn Sunday Football league programme.

However league officials say they don’t fear a fixture backlog as it was only the second time this season a full programme has been lost to the weather.

One date the league can now put in their diary is the Lancashire FA Sunday Trophy Semi Final in which New Gardeners will play Preston side AFC Ingol who claimed the scalp of Clifton in the quarter final after a penalty shoot-out. The game will take place at The Arbories, the home of Padiham FC on Wednesday, February 18.

Manager Dave Berry said: “It’s a tough draw, but you’d expect that at this stage.”

The club, which celebrate its 20th anniversary in August, will run coaches to the fixture and details will be released soon.

The league would also like to welcome Martin Devitt onto the management committee. He is well known in grassroots circles and brings with him a great deal of knowledge and experience of the grassroots game.

Devitt is a life member of the Lancashire Football Association having served on various LFA committees in his time as a regional officer to the Association.

He has also had links with the Blackburn Combination.

The league hope that the weather relents so that it can get back into action with a full programme on Sunday, January 25.

  • There were no games played in the Blackburn Combination, Accrington Combination, Harry Dewhurst Memorial League, Burnley Miners Sunday League, and the Pendle Charity Sunday League due to the weather.