SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Byrnes @ Clover

What a shame that a 1-0 game is called with 20 mins to play. Not fair to the kids from Byrnes IMO. The HSL needs to space this thing out a little so that there is some flexibility in scheduling for just a circumstance like this.

If it were my team I would have been a very unhappy person when they called the game.

I'm sure Coach Brophy and the Rebels aren't happy campers and can understand why. 20 minutes is plenty of time to have gotten that equalizer. This is a game where a 6pm start would have paid huge dividends!

What is your opinion of what should have been done? I mean Clover's coach said the field was unplayable after 20 mins of rain. Wonder if it would have been unplayable had it been 1-0 Byrnes.

Just don't understand how in a playoff situation where it is one and done you do not sit and wait and wait and wait until it becomes just totally unreasonable. The lightning stops you play, screw the field being unplayable because of rain.

Feel sorry for the kids at Byrnes. Bad and unfair way to end the season for those young men.

Being at the game, the field could easily be classified as unplayable due to amount of rain in that hour standpoint. My take, which is worth absolutely nothing, is that the game should have been suspended and finished today. I know about the added expense but the players deserve the right and opportunity to determine outcome on the pitch. And if I recall, I have seen such cases reported on this site. I can say the Clover Coach was real quick in letting the refs know about the first lightning strike but it was the right call both from a safety standpoint and per the rules.

As I said, a 6pm start would have made this a non-issue. Only question, did someone check the forecast and or that radar screen to possibly move time up.

Either way, all said and done, both teams should be proud of the effort they put forth on the pitch as a hard fought, even match.

I understand too. Just don't think a 6pm start would have changed anything. Anyone looking at weather up here yesterday knew we were in for a rainy night. Forecast was something like 80% chance of thunderstorms from about 4pm on.....

I also hate the idea of just sitting around endlessly. If the storms arent' going to end....your options are to either call the game, or postpone to the next night. Not sure the cost of a bus trip from Spartanburg to Clover....but given the weather here today my guess is that wasn't a valid option.

Now sure what else they could have done. Too bad for Byrnes for sure. But they got a crack....they got 80% of the game in.

Tomorrow should be nice weather tho.......to welcome the Wren folks.

I would HOPE that the "playability" of the field would be in the officials' hands ... assuming no lightning.
That said, how long DO you wait, on a school night? And should you require the schools to finish the next day? (A problem for a school with a 2-hour bus ride, which does happen.)
Last year, after a heavy mid-day downpour, Carolina Forest and Wando STARTED a third-round (weekend) game on a field that was virtually under water in spots.

I am not saying to just sit around endlessly. My thought is just sheerly with the kids, especially the seniors. I just believe that in a playoff situation where it is one and done everything has to be done to ensure there is a final score. I wasn't there so I can't speak to it directly but it doesn't sound like that was the case at Clover last night.

As far as Byrnes having a "crack" because they got to play 80% of the game, well i just think that is a crap comment. Not sure where your rooting interest lie, or if you have any at all, but I bet you would be not to happy if all your team got was "a crack" or "80% of the game".

Why can't they make up the rest of the game otday?

We have several friends on the Clover team. Having said that....honestly, I don't have any emotional investment in the outcome of the game.

I absolutely empathize with a group of kids who lose that way. Didn't mean to make a "crap" comment. Just saying that having been up here last night...not sure what else the refs could have done. No anticipated break in weather. More of the same today. Thursday is round 2.

No real option. The Byrnes kids weren't cheated, they just got dealt a bad hand.

In NC......the boys and girls play in opposite seasons. They also don't set a specific date for the game. They set a specific date that the game has to be completed by. Their playoffs.....last a little longer than those in SC. I think if we had NC rules the schools would have a little more flexibility in playing the game. Probably would have played Monday.

Raining. Supposed to clear out late tonight. Thursday games should fine...other than wet fields.

having a playoff game called with 20 minutes left to play and only down 1-0 is what i would call being cheated.........they were cheated out of finishing the game..........what else can it be called? fair? i don't think so. do whatever it takes to get the full game in including ot. what would they do if it was tied? flip a coin? if Wando, Fort Mill, Irmo, BC, NW were down 1-0 there is no way the game would have been called complete.

Ok, so what were the options?

We had 2-3" of rain yesterday....much of it during gametime. Also lots of lightning. Today.....is a repeat of yesterday.

There is another game on Thursday.

I agree it sucks.....but what else would you do? At midnight....pull the boys back out on the field and play 17 minutes? Isnt' the referee charged with player safety? If the referee says conditions are unsafe what do you want?

I go back to......Sat/Sun, why didn't the powers that be pull the Tuesday games forward to Monday. Play a doubleheader with the girls. Monday was fine...everyone knew Tues/Wed were going to suck weather wise.

It sucks.....but cheating implies someone got an unfair advantage. Don't see how anyone could infer that. They did get 60+ minutes in.

If I'm not mistaken a World Series Baseball game could be called after 4.5 innings if the rains come and it becomes unplayable at the stadium (after hours of waiting). If the score is 1-0 it's an official game. I believe even the Master's and other major golf tournaments can end after 54 holes vice 72 if the weather doesn't cooperate.

I agree it's unfortunate for the players to not be able to play all 80 minutes, but no one was cheated. Concur with Big Daddy, there is no way to infer an unfair advantage. It was raining for both teams.

The rules are the rules. I don't infer an unfair advantage. I do, however, advocate "play on," except for lightning. Where it becomes a bit problematic is in the event of a tie score. The argument can be made that, if you have to wait out -- or replay -- that situation, you should have to play the final 20 in this one.

I am not saying that Clover had an unfair advantage I am just saying that they should have done everything theye could have to resume including making plans for today. Give it a shot and hope the weather cooperates.

I agree that scheduling of the playoffs being so tight is an issue and I mentioned that in my orginal post. I also agree that had this been an Irmo, Northwestern, Wando etc. that they would not have just said you got 60 mins, you should have made the most of it, sorry. If Irmo travels to Greenwood and is down 1-0 with 20 mins to play can you imagine the uprisng is Irmo was put on the bus and told hey you had your crack, 60 mins is all you get.

Ccscoach, you are mistaken. No world series games has EVER been shortened by weather. You are also wrong about the Masters, every golfer WILL complete 72 holes. Not sure what othere major golf tournaments you are talking about but that seems like a pretty flawed argument

I disagree with the comment about the bigger schools. Who knows, we might see this happen tomorrow night, given the current weather in Chucktown.

The officials can not declare a game complete. They suspended the game and at that point it is in the SCHSL's hands as to call it a complete game or reschedule the completion. A game can be declared complete by the SCHSL as long as 1/2 has been completed.

Simple fact...there is nothing in the rules to support a continuation of the game at a later time if a half has been completed. It's unfortunate for the team that is down a goal, but the rule is that if the game is called due to unplayable conditions PRIOR TO the half, it will be resumed at the point of interruption. After the half, the game is considered complete.

There have been plenty of games that could have gone either way that have been decided early by weather. I've been in a few, on both sides. Again, it's unfortunate that it happened in the playoffs when it's win or go home, but how is that so different than if it happens in a region game that determines whether you get there in the first place, or who you have to face?

Again, an unfortunate circumstance for the team who is trying to equalize, but the rules are very clear. It's not a matter of how close the playoff matches are scheduled together, or transportation, or inconvenience. Scheduling the last 20 minutes at a later time would have been a violation of the rules and procedures every SCHSL team plays under, and would have given the benefitting team an unfair advantage over every other team that has had a close match shortened by the same rule.

I am not doubting you, but where could I find said rule. I would like to read just out of curiosity and to educate myself on the rule.

Excellent, concise summary.

Thank you. This should be addressed with the hsl prior to next year. They have different ot rules for the playoffs, perhaps they should consider different game suspension rules as well.

This is the first time I have ever posted on the board in my 15+ years of coaching in SC. Figure this would be a good time to start! I want my 18 minutes back! Thanks to those who thought enough to start this topic. Surreal is the word that comes to mind. Hate that it happend to my players, especially the seniors. The Head Referee was a class act and was well aware of what was at stake. He waited until the last moment, actually 10:30pm. Coach Dundr and their AD Coach Hester were very professional and sympathetic. Clover is a good team, no doubt. They controlled the 1st half, and we were fortunate to get out of that half 1-0. 2nd half (22 minutes) we started to play much better, and we may have had a slight edge. Clover did miss a sitter, but we were in their end a good bit as well. The flow of the game was turning in our favor before the bottom dropped out. After a long delay, and looking over the field there was no way we could have finished that night. We had 60 minutes to score a goal, we didn't, and they did. That could be it a nut-shell. However, I would like to think we were on the verge before the weather went nutso. I guess we'll never know. I'll spend the Summer playing "what if", and move on. I hope that we represented ourselves as a team that shouldn't be an easy out for anybody. To get where we did the past couple of years says alot for my boys and the program. Lord knows we've worked very hard to get there! Best of luck to Clover and the rest of the teams in the play-offs! (#10 Lucas is quite a handful!)Soccer is a crazy game, but it's what a lot of us live for!

Great post. More power to you, Coach.

Coach Brophy you are a class act! Great coach and you have a very respectable team, good luck in the future.

Coach Brophy, being at the game, I feel you and your players represented the sport and Brynes very well! Class act all the way around and the players walked off the field with their heads high and rightfully so!

Excellent post. Coach Brophy is disappointed, but certainly not bitter. Great attitude! Sends a positive message to his players.