Fog forces BBC commentator Steve Bower to call FA Cup tie largely blind as Notts County beat Altrincham
Steve Bower describes commentating through thick fog at Altrincham's FA Cup tie with Notts County as among the toughest of his 35-year career, with the visitors winning on penalties after a late equaliser.
BBC Sport commentator Steve Bower has called the thick fog that engulfed Altrincham's FA Cup first-round tie against Notts County on Saturday one of the hardest assignments of his roughly 35-year career. The game at Moss Lane was shown live on BBC Two, but from Bower's position opposite the dugouts the action beyond the centre circle became impossible to follow. He said that after about the 60th minute the broadcast team could not tell which team had the ball, let alone which player did, and the match went on to extra time.
The National League hosts had led the League One visitors 2-1 and were threatening an upset before Callum Roberts equalised late for Notts County, sending the tie to extra time. The visitors ultimately progressed on penalties. Bower said the frustration was that for an hour it had been a genuinely good cup tie with everything you would want, before the fog turned much of it into a non-event for viewers, since the usual elements of tactics, shape, aggression and effort could not be seen.
Radio colleagues faced the same problem. BBC Radio Nottingham commentator Adam Hassell said he could just make out the white shirt numbers but struggled to see the far side of the pitch. Former Notts County striker Mark Stallard, also on BBC Radio Nottingham, said nobody in the press box knew where the ball was and compared it to a spot-the-ball competition, adding that it was slightly farcical to have to commentate for radio listeners in such conditions.
Even the managers were affected. Bower recounted that Notts County boss Martin Paterson credited Altrincham as the better side in the first half but joked that he could not see the second. Altrincham manager Neil Gibson said his staff tried to get to pitchside to assess the opposition's four substitutions and whether their shape had changed, but simply could not see. According to Bower, the players abandoned long diagonal passes for short ones because of the visibility, and the match came very close to being called off.
Bower said some players told him they could not see either goal or the corner flags from the centre circle. On the decisive penalties, he relied on the crowd's reaction before describing events, only confirming the goalkeeper's save when the first replay arrived. The spot-kicks were taken in front of Altrincham supporters, whose phone lights were used to try to distract the Notts County takers, while the visiting fans at the other end had to rely on crowd reaction too. Bower called it a very unique evening all around that will live long in the memory.
