Redlands United was looking to secure just their second win of the season but just before kick-off against SWQ Thunder, ground management staff at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba declared the field unsafe.
It was meant to be a milestone weekend for three of the Redlands players with Graham Fyfe, who recently made his 200th senior game appearance for the club, set to become the first player to reach 100 PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland games.
Goalkeeper James Edgar and newly signed Carlton Westerdale, both only 18 years old, were also expected to make their senior debuts for the club.
The past few weeks at Redlands have seen a big change in the coaching staff of their senior teams. Assistant coach of the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland senior men’s team, Nick Dibbs, has taken over the head coaching duties from Matt Chandler for the remainder of the 2017 season.
Dibbs took over the coaching role shortly after the team’s Westfield FFA Cup match loss to Brisbane Olympic FC and he would have had his second game in charge on the weekend against SWQ Thunder.
Chandler will still oversee the senior program as the senior technical director at Redlands but will also take on the coaching role for the U18s and Youth teams for the rest of the season.
The decision comes after it was announced by Football Queensland the new PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland and Football Queensland Premier League competitions will have a promotion and relegation system based on the points accumulated from the U18s, Youth and Senior team.
This new system could put an emphasis on winning instead of development for younger players in the U18s and Youth teams. Redlands want to have players prepared for this when the changes come in next season.
The squad has had the past two weeks off and will be looking to make an impact against Western Pride on Friday night. The last time the two teams met Pride came away with the three points in a 2-1 win after a late goal.
Redlands United will be back at the Showgrounds this Friday, June 23, as they face Western Pride from 7pm. Redlands will also announce the winner of their car giveaway as they give a chance for someone to win a Honda Civic VTi.