DIRECTOR of coaching Dean Ball has hit out at Longton after Bromsgrove's re-arranged match at Stoke was cancelled on Saturday.

Once again the Boars were frustrated by poor weather as the second attempt to play this Midland Division One fixture was called off.

Ball though believes the Stoke club are not doing everything in their power to get the game played.

He said: "The rule book actually says that a club should look for an alternative grounds before calling a match off.

"Longton have been unlucky with the weather, but I'm not sure they're doing enough and it's affecting our season."

"Of course if the weather is bad then there's not that much which can be done, but what's going on there is a bit excessive."

"We're not the only team that has been affected by Longton calling matches off."

The Longton game's second cancellation though means Bromsgrove's North Midlands Division One clash at Droitwich will be moved again.

The fixture, which had originally been set for February 12, has already been pushed back to March 5.

However, the trip to Longton will now be moved to that date and the derby match with Droitwich will once again be switched to a later day.

Ball told The Advertiser/Messenger he felt the problem had damaged the cup's credibility.

He said: "It's another blow for the cup.

"Everybody wants to play this game and we're being denied a huge derby because of cancelled fixtures.

"It's unavoidable on our part, but we are looking forward to this game.

"It also starts confusing other teams, some will be playing a semi-final while we're against Droitwich in an earlier round."

Ball though has urged his team to focus on the difficult task of stopping runaway leaders Leicester Lions in their tracks at Finstall Park on Saturday (2.15pm start).

The Boars are still smarting from a 54-22 mauling by the Lions at the start of the season.

Ball though remained confident that his side could cause an upset.

He said: "On our day we can beat anyone in the league - even Leicester.

"In recent games they have had the happy knack of winning matches even when they are not playing well.

"We have a good home record and we tend to raise our game against the best sides, so we should be confident we can get something."

The only absence for the match is Ross Baxter, but Ball will have captain Dave Clark, Dan Ott and Tom Churchill back at his disposal.

He said: "The only good thing about Saturday's match being called off was it gave the players a break.

"The squad's nearly at full strength so Leicester should be worried about us."