A flood, a right call and away fans' anger ... how the postponement of Rotherham United v Ipswich Town unfolded

All around the outskirts of AESSEAL New York Stadium havoc was being wreaked by Storm Babet, to the extent that yesterday's Rotherham United's clash with Ipswich Town fell victim to the weather three hours before kick-off.

But within the confines of the Millers' home, on a day of a non-stop, torrential deluge, the playing surface had held up perfectly.

“It's the best I've ever seen it,” said manager Matt Taylor. “The (artificial) stitching that happened a few weeks into the season has started to bed in with the natural grass.”

In the morning, there had been hope that the fixture would go ahead. However, the rising level of the River Don, the path of which snakes right by the stadium, became more and more of a concern.

As its banks burst in the afternoon, so did the optimism. Flooding closed one of the two routes into the ground and an emergency meeting involving the Millers, Rotherham Borough Council, South Yorkshire Police and the EFL was convened. Around 5pm came the verdict: match postponed.

“First things first, we've got to apologise to all the fans who've made the journey,” said Taylor

The apology wasn't sparked by any wrongdoing by the club, it was just an expression of heartfelt regret that so many away supporters had been inconvenienced by a wasted near-400-mile round trip in hazardous conditions.

“We're gutted,” Taylor said. “The Ipswich fans have travelled a long distance and were looking forward to a good game of football. It's the safety concerns around the stadium that forced the game to be called off.”

The manager and his staff were already at the ground, a few players too. A message had been posted into their WhatsApp group chat advising them to make their journeys earlier than usual.

The boss had arrived only moments after the Don had begun to spread its damage around New York's Don Street access area.

“As we were pulling in through one entrance we were getting turned around and having to come in another way because the river had just burst its banks,” he said.

“The players were looking forward to the game. You go through all the rigmarole of a game day where you get your food prep right, your sleep time time, your travel time right. The adrenaline starts to build a little bit. They were as disappointed as anyone it was off.”

The Championship clash had originally been scheduled for a day later but had been brought forward for Sky TV live coverage.

No doubt the broadcasting giants, whose money gives them so much influence, had been pushing through the day for the match to be on even though numerous flood warnings in the area had been issued.

The away end had been a sell-out but, with rail services disrupted and some coaches not making the journey because of the storm, there would have been empty seats in the South Stand.

The flood of anti-Rotherham feeling from Ipswich followers on social media was almost as swift and severe as nature's one that had sparked the ‘game off’ announcement.

Their frustration was understandable but there was nothing the Millers could do, nothing anyone could do. Not even Sky can control a river.

One the Don overflowed, that was it. The environs of New York weren't a safe place to be. The game had to be postponed.

That was a decision taken by the council and the police, not the Millers, and it was the only possible course of action.

“It's no-one's fault,” Taylor said. “The weather has been extreme for 24 hours and the river has fallen foul of that. No-one can predict when it's going to burst its banks. It happened pretty quickly.

“It's not our decision. We've had no say in it. We were desperate to play the game.

“Hopefully our fans and Ipswich's fans can understand the decision. The supporters will feel it and be emotional more than anyone else but they didn't see first-hand what had happened.”

Meanwhile, the pitch remained immaculate and as unused as the stadium.

Said Taylor “Full credit to the ground staff for keeping it in such good condition despite the rain.”