FOOTBALL Fortunately, we do get
advance notice of when live fixtures are happening, so that gives me time to plan for a high dose of nitrogen liquid fertilisers in advance of the game to give the grass a boost of colour
”
“On some occasions, BBC and Sky Sports broadcast live games from the Oval so I do put myself under a lot of pressure to ensure the pitch is looking the best that I can make it.”
“Fortunately, we do get advance notice of when live fixtures are happening, so that gives me time to plan for a high dose of nitrogen liquid fertilisers in advance of the game to give the grass a boost of colour.” The Irish league season usually finishes in the last weekend of April and, by that time, the pitch really needs some attention from William.
“I try to commence end of season renovations as soon as possible after the last match is played so, in the early part of May, I will take the nets down, take away the advertising boards and leave the pitch ready for the renovation works to begin.” “As this is contracted out, I work alongside Nigel to agree on a suitable date to commence the job, which will be carried out over a two-day period.” “Firstly, the pitch will be vertidrained to a depth of six to eight inches, followed by the spreading and brushing of 100 tonnes of sand. My sand is zone four grade and is supplied by Norman Emerson Ltd based in Lurgan.”
“Day two is seeding day. The predominant seed mix I use is Johnsons Premier Pitch which I have used for each of my previous renovation works. Last season for the first time, I added the Limagrain MM60 and MM25 to the seed mix.”
“I felt that the central band of the pitch from goal to goal was showing excess wear and tear and I wanted to try and address this problem. I looked at the MM25 seed mixture and, as well as the high proportions of ryegrass, it contained a twenty percent content of strong red creeping fescue. I felt this species, because of its creeping growth habit, would encourage a denser sward, so we only used the MM25 mix up and down that central band of the pitch.” “It is difficult to judge if it has been a successful experiment, but I feel that there has been less wear in the affected areas, and grass coverage in these areas is better
50 PC August/September 2020
than in previous years.” “Once the renovation works are complete, the pitch is handed back to me to manage through the rest of the summer months and into pre-season. The main priority, obviously, is to ensure the successful germination and establishment of the new grass seed.” “It seems to be now, in recent years, that May can be a very dry month and I’m having to irrigate the pitch more often. It is such a critical month as I do not want to risk losing hundreds of pounds worth of grass seed, therefore irrigation is essential.” “I have access to mains water, hose and sprinklers, so I can get water on to the pitch. I also have the benefit of being able to recycle water that flows through the under- drainage pipes, thereby reducing the need to use valuable mains water, should a lack of rainfall mean a hosepipe ban,” said William. Renovation works can be affected by budgets; however, whatever William requests is usually approved by the board of directors.
“I do not necessarily order the same quantities of materials each year as it is usually based on the condition of the pitch come the end of the season,” William said. “This year, with the season coming to an early suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, the pitch still had good grass coverage, so I have ordered less seed than normal.”
“I always stick with the 100 tonnes of sand as I believe that the addition of the sand will improve the soil profile and its drainage capabilities. In previous years, supporters clubs have donated funds to allow the purchase of additional materials, be it seed, sand or fertiliser.”
Groundhopper
William has become involved with quite a unique project at The Oval known as the Groundhopper tours conducted on match days. The tour is the brainchild of club commercial manager, Simon Wallace, and Glentoran historian Sam Robinson, who lead
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