Portsmouth v Sheffield United: Fratton pitch latest amid postponement fears
The latest on the Fratton Park Championship clash between Pompey and Sheffield United going ahead tomorrow.
Pompey’s Championship clash with Sheffield United remains on course to take place, as things stand.
The News understands there’s currently no concerns over the meeting with the Blades tomorrow not taking place, despite fears from the Fratton Faithful another game being called off was on the horizon.
No concerns over Pompey v Sheffield United clash at present
The Fratton Park playing surface is believed to be in a playable condition, with rainfall over recent days not reaching the levels which saw the meeting with Ipswich Town postponed last week.
The weather forecast for the Fratton area does point to a period of thundery showers this afternoon, before remaining dry this evening and tomorrow.
That leaves the club hopeful the clash with Chris Wilder’s side will get the green light, unless the weather gods throw up any surprises before the 3pm clash.
Pompey’s ground staff are also equipped with blotters, which are machines employed to soak up water after heavy rainfall relents. They weren’t able to be used ahead of the Ipswich postponement, with the torrid conditions not easing before the decision was made to call off the game.
Blues boss John Mousinho spoke on Wednesday and confirmed the Sheffield United game was not in doubt, at that stage.
He told The News: 'The game isn’t in doubt, as things stand at the moment.
‘That’s because we’ve had a couple of days where it’s dried out. Today is a dry day, so as far as I’m concerned, I’m preparing for the game to be on.
‘I’ve lived in England for 35 years and I’ve learned not to trust the weather forecast in that time.
‘But the pitch is fine, the pitch has held up pretty well this season. It was waterlogged for the game against Ipswich and it’s had some heavy wear over the past few weeks, but I felt it was fine against West Brom.
‘The staff are working hard and I think the pitch will be fine, but it’s just about how much rain we get.
‘It’s happening across the league. Look at Preston’s pitch, that was probably the worst pitch we’ve played on this season.
‘It does happen sometimes (where the weather deteriorates the pitch), I’ve not known rain like the past four weeks for a long time.
‘Living in this country we’re used to it, but I’ve not seen anything quite this consistent and heavy.
‘There’s hundreds of flood warnings across the country, so I don’t think we’re talking about an issue which is isolated to just Portsmouth.’
Last month saw a huge amount of rain in Portsmouth, with 205mm recorded against a five-year average of 90mm. This week those numbers have dropped, however. Wednesday saw 1.4mm of rainfall in the city with yesterday (0.3mm). Today’s total is expected to be 1.1mm, with no rain anticipated tomorrow.