LYME Regis face a further delay to their Devon & Exeter League Premier East title quest.

The Seasiders are due to play Chard Town Reserves in their final match of the group stages and require one point for top spot.

However, Lyme were 3-0 up on Chard last Saturday before rain swamped parts of the Davey Fort, leading to an abandonment.

Rob Fellingham, Tom Bastin and Brad Rowe all scored before the weather intervened.

The fixture had originally been rescheduled for this Saturday (3pm) but the contest is now likely to be delayed until next Thursday or Friday.

READ MORE: Lyme on brink of title after 6-2 win

Joint-manager Julien Simier told the Bridport & Lyme Regis News: “It’s frustrating, it’s just one of them.

“You can’t really complain because of the safety of players. We had a good inch of standing water in some parts of the pitch, so it had to be cancelled.

“It has to be replayed but we’ve already been in contact with Chard.

“The issue we have is that Chard have got two teams and they have a mini-cup and finished top.

“They have a quarter-final this Saturday and they signed four players from Bridport last November, but they’re not eligible for this cup because they didn’t sign from the beginning.”

He added: “It’s ridiculous, so because of that they’re short on players and have to pick from the reserves.

“This Saturday they were expecting to have more of the reserves on the bench, which means the reserves would’ve been struggling for players.

“So we agreed not to play this Saturday. We’re probably going to be playing on next Thursday or Friday.

“We’re waiting on confirmation from Chard. If they go through again on Saturday their next one will be on Tuesday or Wednesday.

“We’re playing a waiting game. We can to a certain point, but it’s not fair to my players.”

Lyme will make use of the free Saturday, Simier explained.

“I’ve organised a friendly this weekend to give time to players who didn’t really have the chance to start,” he said.

“Then we’ll play (Chard) whenever we can. It’s been a great year, whatever happens.

“On and off the pitch it’s been great.”