A frustrated Lee O'Leary revealed there was no warning before Potters Bar Town's match with Kingstonian was abandoned - with the referee not prepared to wait for remedial work to take place either.

The Scholars had taken the lead on 68 minutes against the Isthmian League Premier Division leaders, Samson Esan the scorer, but five minutes later a brief conversation between the man in the middle and one of his linesman saw the contest scrapped.

The Bar boss said: "There was no official warning as such from the referee to say that if it got any worse, we’d have to call it off or see what we could do to get the game finished. There was nothing like that.

"There was a five-minute period where he was getting put under pressure by some to call it off.

"They had an attacking corner and the referee went over to the linesman on the far side. They had a brief little conversation and then he blew the whistle as if it was the final whistle.

"I’ve gone over to ask what that was all about and he said that the game had been abandoned because of water.

"I asked for the where, what and why and he said the linesman feared for his safety because he was having to run through a puddle.

"That puddle was there at half-time though when we came back out."

O'Leary also said the club were confident they could have sorted the problem within minutes but the referee was unmoved.

He said: "I asked him to give us five minutes to shift it. The drainage all goes to that side but because of the weather the drains were blocked up.

"But we could release the drainage down to the other end and it would be OK in five minutes.

"He wouldn’t have any of it and insisted the decision had been made."

What happens next remains to be seen with O'Leary none the wiser.

"I’ve heard from people it can’t be replayed from that minute, it has to be the full game," he said.

"Then I’m hearing it is down to the league’s discretion as to whether the result stands or it is replayed.

"The club are going to make a call to the league to see what the protocols are and what needs to happen to help [the league] come to a decision."

If they had held on for the remaining time, it would have been Bar's first win in four after three score-draws.

That only heightened the frustrations felt by the Maroons.

O'Leary said: "We’ve been brilliant since the win over Cray. We lost 48 hours later against Cheshunt as the short gap affected us but since then our performances have been really good.

"Against Bognor (2-2), Folkestone (3-3) and Haringey (2-2), we could have had at least six points from those games, at least six.

"We’re trusting the process and hoping the win will come and we will go on a little run."