BBC commentator Steve Bower has described Saturday's FA Cup tie between Altrincham and Notts County as the worst conditions of a broadcasting career stretching back 35 years, after thick fog rolled over Moss Lane and swallowed the pitch.

Bower was calling the tie live on BBC Two. From his position opposite the dugouts, the far side of the ground gradually disappeared, and by around the 60th minute he could no longer tell which team had the ball, let alone which player had it.

"We will try our best to let you know who has got the ball," Bower told viewers as the fog thickened. The match was said to be "very, very close to getting called off", with players forced to keep their passes to the ten metres in front of them.

Penalty shootout in the gloom

Notts County, who sit in the third tier, narrowly avoided a major upset, winning 3-2 on penalties after the scores were tied at 2-2 after extra time. By the 83rd minute, when Callum Roberts levelled for County, players, spectators and broadcasters alike could barely see the ball.

During the shootout, Bower had to rely on the immediate reaction of the crowd before committing to a call on air. BBC Two even had to resort to a camera behind the goals to show the decisive penalty, with the standard side-on shot almost entirely obscured.

TNT Sports commentators had just as tough a time. Adam Summerton told viewers "He's put it wide, I think" after Notts County's Max Sanders stepped up, before correcting himself as the replay showed the penalty had gone in.

Bower said a similar fog had hit a York v Wigan tie about three years earlier, but that this time the conditions were worse.