FC’s first home playoff game cancelled
London Community News
FC London is off to the next round of the United Soccer League’s Premier Development (PDL) playoffs and they didn’t even need to strap on the cleats to move on.
FC was expected to host their first-ever postseason game Tuesday (July 16) at Cove Road Field, but their opponents, the River City Rovers, conceded the match.
Two River City players received red cards in their final game of the 2012 season against the Michigan Bucks Sunday (July 14), resulting in the Rovers not having a complete roster to compete in the playoff matchup.
River City’s loss to Michigan secured FC the second spot in the Great Lakes Division and home-field advantage in the first game of the postseason.
"As an organization, we've spent the last four years working toward the ability to bring our fans a playoff home game and now we can't,” said Ian Campbell, CEO of FC, in a release. "We spent some time on the phone with the league, and it appears that with their roster in tatters, River City is unable to field a team for the game. It does give our guys a chance to rest and takes away the possibility of game day red-cards or injury.”
London will now get the week off to prepare for the Central Conference semifinal against the Thunder Bay Chill scheduled for Saturday (July 21).
Anyone who has already bought tickets to Tuesday’s game should email info@fclondon.ca for instructions on how to get a refund.