Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson felt referee Michael Ryan made the right decision after his side’s Southern League Premier South match at Havant & Waterlooville was postponed shortly before kick-off.

Ryan postponed the match after deeming Havant’s artificial surface was unfit for play because of a tear in the surface.

Kick-off had already been delayed by 30 minutes – from 7.45pm to 8.15pm – because of a kit clash between Farnham’s green and white away kit and Havant’s white home kit.

Ryan made the decision to postpone the fixture just before 8pm.

“It was a nightmare since we turned up,” said Johnson.

“There was a kit clash which is nowhere near a kit clash, but Havant pointed it out.

“It was a shame. We had to go and get a new shirt, which delayed kick-off, and then as we were putting cones out to warm-up there was a part of the pitch that came up.

“Havant said they could fix it and put glue on it but they just threw crumb over the top of it.

“The pitch wasn't safe – there was an injury out there – so it was decided the game's off.

“It was the right decision but it was a shame because everyone was turning up. It is what it is.

“It is one of those things that happens very rarely. It happens with a waterlogged pitch from time to time.”

Before the postponement Farnham confirmed that Owen Dean had signed a new contract until the end of the 2026-27 season, and Johnson was delighted to tie Dean down.

“It’s great news,” said Johnson.

“We're looking at tying some boys down for the following season.

“It's a project here and Owen is a big part of that.

“He's really finding his feet in this league and there's more to come.”