A WATERLOGGED surface at the notoriously troublesome Causeway Ground last Saturday put Evesham United's Division One West championship ambitions on hold, writes Mervyn Collins.

An 11am inspection deemed Cinder-ford's surface playable but heavy rain, prior to a second inspection two hours later, left match referee Derek Eaton with no option but to postpone the Southern League clash.

"I wasn't surprised really. It's not the best of surfaces but the important thing is that we get it rearranged quickly to give us the chance to ensure that Mangotsfield don't get too far ahead," said United boss Dave Busst.

The cancellation will keep both Lee Knight and Leon Blake on the sidelines for Saturday's trip to Oxford City after they were due to finish their respective two and three-match bans last weekend.

Busst will also have to find a replacement for Neil O'Sullivan who sits out the first of a two-game ban after accumulating five bookings. The injured Marc Burrow will also be missing.

"I won't be bringing anyone in," Busst revealed. "We can bring in Grant Pink-ney or Danny Williams on the left but it just means our bench will be a little light."

City, who were defeated 3-0 at Com-mon Road in early December, have won just two of their 14 home league matches, scoring a mere nine goals.

However, the Robins have lost their last three matches on the road and they will be keen to end that disappointing seq-uence at Court Place Farm.

While Oxford were losing 2-1 at lowly Swindon Supermarine last Saturday, results involving sides at the top of the table certainly went Evesham's way.

Bromsgrove, though, showed their promotion pedigree with a 1-0 win at Thame on Tuesday to make it six points out of six since their defeat at Common Road.