Storm Austen: Update on Portsmouth’s Championship clash with Millwall
An update on tomorrow’s Championship clash at Fratton Park amid Storm Austen.
Pompey’s Championship clash with Millwall is currently set to go ahead as scheduled.
The News understands there are presently no worries about tomorrow’s meeting with the Londoners being called off amid Storm Austen.
No concerns over Pompey v Millwall postponement at present
Severe gale-force winds of up to 70mph have buffeted the south of England, with the Met Office issuing a yellow wind warning for Portsmouth.
Power lines are down across our communities with shops flooded and ferries cancelled, as the impact of the first named storm of the season is felt.
The yellow weather warning remains in place until 5pm this evening, with the forecast for strong wind up to 49mph and heavy rain tomorrow.
But there are no concerns over the clash between John Mousinho’s men and Alex Neil’s side not taking place, as things stand.
The current forecast tomorrow is for light winds and a moderate breeze in the run-up to the 12.30pm kick-off, though gusty winds and heavy rain are expected at Fratton from 2pm.
Pompey’s squad has been decimated by injuries going into the game, but they will be keen for the clash to go ahead after picking up seven points from a possible nine off the back of south-coast derby defeat to Southampton.
The club invested heavily on their pitch this summer, as they spent £1.5m replacing their soil-based surface with a new hybrid version. As part of that work drainage was also improved, though the club opted against installing undersoil heating.
January’s postponement as a result of a frozen pitch was the first called off for that reason since the February 2012 cancellation against Hull City.
The next month saw heavy rainfall lead to the scheduled match with the Tractor Boys being called off for a waterlogged pitch.
That was the first time a match had fallen foul of rain at Fratton Park for 13 years, with January seeing double the usual amount of rainfall for that time of year. The October 2013 meeting with Wycombe was abandoned at half-time amid a monsoon, with the score 1-1.