Frost bites into Rotherham Titans' local derby

Freezing: the scene at Clifton Lane this morning.

Saturday, January 6 has been pencilled in as a possible date for the National Two North fixture, which was called off due to a frozen pitch at Clifton Lane yesterday.

Sub-zero temperatures overnight put the match in doubt and the decision to postpone came three hours before the scheduled kick-off.

It meant another frustrating weekend for the club, which has seen income from four recent matchdays hit by the surrounding roadworks related to the town’s cycle path scheme.

Access, ironically, was set to be much better for today’s fixture, which attracts one of the biggest crowds on the club’s fixture calendar, but a new date just a few weeks down the line will be welcome.

With all but one N2N game surviving the weather, Rotherham remain 11 points behind leaders Leeds with a game in hand which they will play next week away to Preston Grasshoppers.

Ex-Jersey Reds man Harvey Biljon, who is working in tandem with head coach Gareth Lewis, said: “The whole squad were really looking forward to the game. They came away disappointed with the Leeds result (last week) and wanted to build on some parts of the performance there and what’s been unfolding over the last three or four weeks.

"If you look at the first half against Otley and how we have built through certain key components around our defence, attack and set piece, I think the team is growing. It is going in the right direction and more importantly the players have bought in and we’re getting a real understanding.

"It’s just a real pity we didn’t get the Tigers game on."