FOOTBALL


The great thing for us was when we saw Gareth Bale warming up; Mourinho playing him indicated to us that the pitch was holding up - he would not have risked him on a ploughed f ield when he had just come back from injury


T


he team’s outstanding achievement in reaching the FA Cup third-round brought its rewards when Premier League Spurs were pulled out of the bag. Obviously, the game would be diff erent without a crowd of supporters, but there was still a lot to get excited about. Gary and James, both directors of Grasshopper Sports Ground Maintenance Ltd., have looked after the pitch for many years and they commented: “It was exciting for us to be able to work a match against a team like Spurs and welcome them onto the pitch, but we were more pleased for the club. There have been a number of postponements (due to the pandemic and lockdown) and they lost a lot of revenue, so this fi xture could not have come at a better time.”


In the weeks leading up to the game, preparations did not go to plan though, as the weather was unkind and SS Stadia were called in to cover the pitch. “Frost covers were put down on Sunday at 7.30pm, but


the following week (on New Year’s Day), that fi xture was postponed, and nobody thought to tell us that the team had trained on the pitch instead. Before they had put the covers on, they did a bit of divoting, but we never had the chance to give it a full divot and roll.”


The covers were removed from the pitch the day before the Spurs game was due to kick off at 5.00pm Sunday, which didn’t allow much time for preparations. “Once the covers were removed, we found a small area (which is frequently in the shade) was frozen. So, in the next few hours, we hand forked it and, by the time we got back in early Sunday morning, the temperatures had risen and it had thawed out. To guarantee we could get the work done, we brought in some extra help; three of us cut and rolled with hand mowers, whilst the other two divoted and, somehow, we managed to have it all prepared and marked out for 1.00pm.”


“You could already feel the tension and excitement building. Obviously, no fans


PC February/March 2021


57


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