​Following two postponements due to drainage problems on the pitch groundsman Ben Bowen was praised for his efforts to get the pitch in a condition for the tie to be played. The pitch passed a precautionary inspection at 8.15am on Saturday but when Radcliffe arrived they had their own concerns. “I didn’t think the game should have been played, if I’m totally honest,” said Johnson. “Both sets of management expressed concerns with the pitch. I feel sorry for the groundsman, who has got to try and put this right. “Hereford have got some big homes games coming up which will make a fortune, if they get bad weather. “The reason we expressed concern was the safety element. We’ve actually picked up a rolled ankle in one of the areas, Olly Thornley, and the referee wasn’t bothered, he wasn’t interested in that. “When they walk around with a ball, dropping the ball and the ball doesn’t bounce and they still play the game anyway, ‘what’s the point?’. “Then he (the referee) comes over and asks for our opinion, whether we think it should be played, we said no and he played it anyway. “That today, in my opinion, shouldn’t have been played. It was, that’s not sour grapes, absolutely nothing to do with the result.” Johnson later posted on social media: “The pitch is a disgrace, your manager and staff agreed.” Meanwhile, Hereford boss Paul Caddis also raised his concerns and said the corners of the pitch ‘were difficult’. He said that there were ‘external factors’ to consider including his players not being covered by the same insurance that full-time footballers were.