Football shorts: Brechin | Queen of the South | Carl Ikeme | Wilfried Zaha

Brechin City could be forced to move their home games to the plastic surfaces of nearby Montrose or Forfar should their Glebe Park surface suffer one further postponement, with the SFL set to step in to ensure a smooth end to the season.

Last night’s game with Stranraer was called off and has now been re-scheduled for Tuesday, 30 April, meaning that Ray McKinnon’s side no longer have a free midweek between now and the end of the season.

Queens get the cash for new 3G pitch

QUEEN of the South hope to be playing on an artificial 3G pitch next season after Dumfries & Galloway Council approved funding for the £600,000 project. The council is putting up £500,000 for the Palmerston pitch and a similar pitch at Blairmount Park, Newton Stewart, home of the South of Scotland side. The rest of the money will be provided by SportScotland. A Palmerston spokesman said: “We are delighted the council has approved funding for a 3G surface at Palmerston Park.

Punching board is a bad tactic for Ikeme

Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme faces several weeks on the sidelines having broken his hand punching a dressing room tactics board, manager Dean Saunders has revealed.

Ikeme was partly at fault for a bizarre and calamitous own goal against Bristol City on Saturday, and the stopper subsequently received a half-time blast from Saunders and punched the board out of frustration.

Zaha banned over finger gesture

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has been banned for one match by the Football Association for making an offensive gesture towards Leeds fans. The npower Championship club revealed on their website that 20-year-old Zaha has also been fined £3,000 for the incident, which happened during the 2-2 draw between the sides on 9 March.

Zaha was photographed appearing to raise his middle finger towards the fans.