'All hell broke loose in the tunnel' - Why Scunthorpe vs Buxton was abandoned in final minutes of second-half stoppage time

• Match abandoned due to torrential rain
• Widespread confusion at full time
• Scunthorpe boss said "all hell broke loose"

WHAT HAPPENED? It was the hottest day of the year for most of the country, but Scunthorpe was hit by torrential rain, the match against Buxton eventually being abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch in a second-half stoppage time. The scenes at the end of the match were chaotic, with home boss Jimmy Dean reporting that "all hell broke loose in the tunnel".

WHAT THEY SAID: "I went on to the pitch to ask him [the referee] what was going on after he blew the whistle and I don't think he knew himself. It was when we got inside that he said it was abandoned," Dean told BBC Radio Humberside.

"There was no dialogue, or coming over to talk to us, and he only confirmed it was abandoned when all hell broke loose in the tunnel. He said the game was over when I went on the pitch and I asked what that meant because there was at least five minutes of injury time left. The game should have been abandoned earlier than it was because we missed a penalty, but the player couldn't see the ball. If I were Buxton I would want the game finished today. I'd want to go in, wait for 20 minutes and see if it dried out. The way the referee blew his whistle... it just wasn't clear at all."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Buxton were furious that despite being 1-0 up in the final minutes of the match, the referee saw fit to abandon the game in stoppage time due to the weather. It would have been Scunthorpe's first defeat of the season, but as it stands it looks as though the match will have to be replayed. The National League have said that they won't make a final decision on the outcome of the game until they receive the referee's match report.

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WHAT NEXT FOR SCUNTHORPE? The Iron are second in National League North, with their missed game allowing Tamworth to overtake them and surge into the league's only automatic promotion spot. Next weekend, Scunthorpe play at home against Brackley Town.