Truly bizarre events at The Valley with a game finishing at normal time but only completing one half! Heavy rain had left a large amount of surface water on the pitch making play relatively farcical on certain points of the pitch. A combination of the conditions and some awful defending saw Charlton 3-0 down after 23 minutes.
On 27 minutes, the referee took the players off the pitch amid furious protests from Doncaster players and manager Paul Dickov. After a 30 minute delay, which bizarrely included Doncaster players sweeping the puddles around the pitch in a circle, the referee decided to restart the game without even testing it, though it was obvious to all it was in a worse state than when he originally took the players off.
The remainder of the half was completed with Charlton pulling a goal back through Simon Church, and Doncaster being reduced to 10 men with Paul Keegan sent off for two yellows. Following these two events, Dickov was less adamant the game should be played, and five minutes into the half-time break, it was confirmed that play would not recommence.
