Oxford City boss Justin Merritt could note to hide his frustration after floodlight failure forced the abandonment  of their Vanarama National League South match at Whitehawk.

The Brighton side were 2-1 up at half-time when the match was abandoned, following a 55-minute wait while officials attempted to solve a problem with the lights.

Within minutes of the announcement of the abandonment, all floodlights at the Enclosed Ground were working perfectly.

The call-off adds to City’s clogged schedule, which will see them play two games per week until at least the middle of March.

Merritt was concerned about the length of the delay.

He said: “That was 55 minutes of waiting around and there does have to be a point where you make a decision.

“The players have played a half, they’ve got themselves cold again.

“It’s difficult to be waiting and hanging around and we’ve got to protect the players.

“I don’t think we could have waited any longer. For me, it was the right call.”


While the abandonment adds to City’s fixture congestion, it came at a good time after a difficult 45 minutes.

Whitehawk could have taken the lead inside two minutes when Jake Robinson helped on former Oxford United winger Sam Deering’s free-kick, forcing a fabulous one-handed reaction save from keeper Laurie Walker.

But City got their noses in front against the run of play in the 20th minute when Marlon Jackson twisted through several challenges before expertly guiding the ball into the bottom corner.

Whitehawk levelled six minutes before half-time when Robinson found space on the right wing before firing a ball across the box, which rebounded off the unfortunate Lee Henderson and into the net.

They seized the advantage five minutes later when an incisive pass in the box put Michael West free in front of goal to hammer past Walker and almost burst the net.

Oxford City: Walker, Bevans, Lapoujade, Fleet, Henderson, Arzamendi, Roberts, Benjamin, Bubb, Jackson, Isaac. Subs not used: Lafuente, Santiago, McDonagh, Pifarré.