NEWPORT County AFC’s League Two clash against Exeter City has been postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

The Exiles had been aiming to finish 2020 with a bang against promotion hopefuls but the fixture fell victim to the weather in the early evening.

“After inspecting the pitch ahead of the fixture, referee John Busby deemed the Rodney Parade pitch unplayable,” read a County statement.

The Rodney Parade pitch took a battering on Boxing Day when the Dragons took on Cardiff Blues in torrential rain.

The situation wasn't helped by a coronavirus outbreak among the groundstaff that hindered post-match work on Saturday.

"Full credit to Mike Flynn, he gave me a call after getting to the ground a little bit earlier," said Exeter boss Matt Taylor, who had a brief spell with County in 2015.

"He said that he didn't feel that it was playable and suggested that I get here as quickly as I could.

"The referee was here waiting and all three of us came to a unanimous decision that the pitch is not playable.

"It doesn't look too bad standing away from it but the moment you step on it it's a bit of a swamp I'm afraid.

"They had a game of rugby on it on Boxing Day and we knew that it was going to be a difficult surface no matter what.

"The amount of rainfall has been too much with standing water, so it's not safe to play."

Flynn believes a Tuesday downpour would have led to the game being in doubt even if the Exiles were the only team calling the Parade home.

He also said that the surface wouldn't have been good enough for a clash between two teams aiming for League One.

“It was a very, very sensible decision by the referee,” said Flynn to BBC Radio Wales.

“They get some stick but I can't speak highly enough of John Busby, who made the decision for the safety and wellbeing of the players.

“It wouldn’t have been a good spectacle. It was absolutely saturated and there was still water in places – it would have cut up straight away.