HEREFORD FC striker Mike Symons said seeing the ball get stuck in the mud prior to his goal yesterday probably made referee Robbie Daley's mind up to abandon the game.

The Bulls were 3-1 up against Leicester Nirvana in the FA Vase fourth round tie, with Symons' goal coming shortly before the break.

The two sides will now go at it again on Saturday, meaning Hereford's away league game at Sporting Khalsa has been postponed.

"It always put a seed in the referee's mind when the ball stops and obviously the conditions deteriorated for the first half," said Symons.

"Before the game, I think he was questioning it, so that probably made his decision easier and he decided to call it off.

"I think  get's chalked off now because the game was abandoned.

"I think it's the first time that the ball has stopped and I've had to follow my own shot in.

"It's frustrating for our point of view because it was 3-1 and we would be shooting towards our fans in the second half.

"But hopefully, in the replay, we can start as we did and get a positive result."

Symons said the standing water on the side on the pitch made it difficult at times.

"It was a bit wet, so when you're dribbling the ball, it would get a bit stuck, but it's one of those decisions – if you're winning, you want to keep playing, if you're losing, then obviously they're going to be jumping on the referee's back to call it off," said Symons.

"The referee made that decision, so we have to live with it and take it into the next game."

The first half was very entertaining, resulting in four goals and two penalties; one of which was missed by Leicester Nirvana.

"I thought, as a team, we attacked well and were solid," said Symons.

"We scored three goals, but the keeper pulled off two good saves from one-on-one situations, so potentially it could have been more."