LYE Town’s boss has reiterated his call for a mid-season break after his team suffered their second postponement in two weeks.

After last weekend’s tie against Coventry Sphinx was called off, Martin Thomas was hopeful that Saturday’s game away at Heanor Town would be on – but to no avail.

Lye’s co-manager said the latest postponement backs his argument for games not to be played in January, allowing pitches and players the chance to recover.

Town, currently second in the Midlands League table, are due to play AFC Wulfrunians in the league on Saturday (3pm kick off), before heading to leaders Alvechurch in the League Cup midweek.

Thomas said: “We tried to arrange a friendly on Saturday but no-one wants to play as they don’t want to ruin their pitches, so we’ve had to make do with training on the 3G.

“AFC have one of the best pitches in the league after Loughborough, so hopefully the game will go ahead, but with the storms that have been forecast, you just never know.

“Not playing games could have a big impact on us. We could be as rusty as old nails against AFC. I hope we’re not, but we could be.”

Lye’s poor cup performances this season compared to their dominant league form has had Thomas scratching his head for answers, but he hopes his side will put it right when they face Alvechurch on Tuesday (Feb 7).

The squad has no major injury worries heading into this week and has also been boosted with Kallum Evitts returning to training after being out since September.

Thomas added: “The only thing except the league that us and Alvechurch have left to play for is the League Cup, so both teams will be going full pelt to try and win it.

“It’s obviously going to be tough, top verses second, but the quality throughout this league is massive which makes every game difficult.

“You can see that by both [Sporting] Khalsa and Coleshill being in the last eight clubs nationally in the FA Vase.

“They’re great clubs and I wish them both the best of luck. It’s just a shame they’re playing each other so only one of them can make it into the semis.

“It could prove to be a distraction that impacts on their league performances, but it’s a distraction I would love to have.”

Lye Town Ladies did not experience postponement troubles this weekend and were able to take down local rivals Stourbridge 2-0 in the third round of the Birmingham County Cup.

Goals either side of half time by leading goal scorer Clare Williamson and Adele Hickman settled the keenly-fought derby.

The Lyeonesses management team said they were “delighted” with the performance – an improvement on the two games since Christmas that brought two disappointing defeats.

The side will now face Gornal in the next round, and return to league action this weekend travelling to Coundon Court.