FC CLACTON chairman Stephen Andrews has apologised on behalf of the club following the floodlight failure that caused the abandonment of their game against Little Oakley.

The Essex Senior League game at the Austin Arena last night was halted after 37 minutes when the floodlights went out, with play halted while investigations took place.

The referee gave a deadline of 9pm to have the floodlights up and running but it was not achieved and the game was abandoned, with the score at 1-1.

FC Clacton say they are hoping to get the problem fixed in time for their FA Youth Cup tie tomorrow night.

They have also promised free entry to spectators for when the abandoned game against Little Oakley is rearranged.

The statement read: 'On behalf of the Club, I want to apologise wholeheartedly to all those who were at our abandoned game last night.

'Supporters & ground hoppers, some of whom travel long distances; our Matchday volunteers who do such a great job; plus of course both sets of management, players & Committee - I’m sorry.

'We have paid a considerable sum for repairs to our floodlights over the last couple of weeks.

'They are old, failing & will be replaced next spring, but we obviously need them for the rest of this season & the necessary work was undertaken to get them up & running (or so we thought).

'We also pay a small fortune every time they are all fired up & that has happened many times over the last few days as we tested them, with all 20 bulbs working for the first time in a while causing our meter to spin furiously.

'However, you can’t replicate match nights with the extra load on the electrics from the bar, burger van, hospitality, changing rooms etc & something, somewhere obviously felt it was all too much.

'You can also never predict non-league football & 15 years here has taught me you just never know what’s coming next, or how much it will cost!

'So we have the electrician back today trying to trace the fault & do whatever is needed to fix it, hopefully in time for our FA Youth Cup home match scheduled for tomorrow night.

'We will advise of progress & when the abandoned game can hopefully be rescheduled for. This will be free entry & we hope all those who were left disappointed last night will be able to join us.

'Once again, I am so very sorry.'