According to Steven Ferguson, there was no way Ross County could have made it to Glasgow in time for their Premiership match against Rangers due to travel disruptions.
On Wednesday at 1:15 p.m., the Ibrox encounter was canceled due to severe travel disruptions brought on by Storm Gerrit.
Following heavy flooding that closed the stretch between Ballinluig and Dunkeld, the A9 was closed in both directions due to heavy snowfall in the Dalwhinnie and Drumochter areas.
The team of Derek Adams had been traveling south on the day of the match, and Ferguson, the CEO, was also stuck in traffic.
After leaving at 11 a.m. and traveling for about four hours on the trunk road, Ferguson claims it became more and more obvious that they would not be able to finish the trip.
The road would not reopen anytime soon.
“We arrived at the Dalwhinnie line and waited in line for a few hours,” Ferguson stated. Just south of Aviemore, we were barely getting by when we saw the police stopping and u-turning people as we came back up the road.
You could not travel any farther than the closed southbound carriageway.
Dunkeld and Ballinluig experienced flooding, and those locations were closed as well. For the duration that we sat there, three sections of the road were impassable.
“The road opening was nowhere to be seen. There would have been no discernible change even if we had remained seated for an additional two or three hours.
“Our kitman left an hour before I did, and they never made it farther. There was no way to move and the traffic line remained unchanged.
It’s a very disappointing decision, but the right one.
“We were in communication with the police and the SPFL, and it became evident from our conversation with them that the road would not be opened.”
A call-off in the early afternoon was required.
Due to Storm Gerrit’s destructive winds, heavy rain, and snow, travel has been severely disrupted.
Later in the day, Aberdeen’s Premiership match against Motherwell was also canceled.
Ferguson thought it was reasonable to postpone the game as soon as possible due to the inclement weather.
“With the number of people traveling to the game—50,000 supporters—it wouldn’t have been right for us to turn them away. We couldn’t expect everyone to show up.” he continued.
“All we can do is follow the guidance that we are given.
“We were prepared to play the game and on our way. There was no point in us driving down the road on Tuesday night because the game started at 7.45 p.m.
Derek would prefer to travel on the day of the game if that is the case. That is customary for us.
This was only a yellow warning, but it appears to have been more severe than some of our previous amber alerts.
We are far more accustomed to this than anyone else because we do it every other trip. We were in contact with everyone and are aware of the procedure.
“We just couldn’t get through, and there’s a genuine frustration stemming from the fact that we were unable to do anything more than what we already did.
“That’s the part we simply have to accept.”
The Staggies intend to play again at Tynecastle.
The rescheduled trip to Ibrox is County’s fifth postponement of the season and their second straight following the cancellation of their home match against Hibernian on Saturday due to a flooded field.
Ferguson is optimistic that the interruption will be resolved in time for the Staggies to play their Premier League game against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday.
“It becomes back-to-back,” Ferguson continued. Our pitch is very good; the two things that delayed it on Saturday were minor.
“I don’t see what anybody else could have done for us to set sail on Wednesday at 11 a.m. for a 7.45 p.m. kick-off and not get down the A9.”
“Police Scotland informed us, and our safety team was in communication with the Rangers’ safety team.”
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