Getting turf with rain

THE Toro ProCore machine gets to work at Boundary Park.

THEY are the unsung heroes of professional football.

But even the best band of fork-wielding ground staff can't always do much about torrential rain when it comes to preparing pitches for football matches.

Across the North-West at the weekend, npower League Two fixtures at Macclesfield and Bury were postponed due to heavy rains which left surface water behind and the League One game between Tranmere and Notts County at Prenton Park was abandoned after 53 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch.

Despite the fact that Athletic faced a major task to get their home game with Dagenham and Redbridge past a pitch inspection an hour-and-a-half before kick-off, the hard-working trio of Chris Bailey, Warren Caine and Daniel Doherty managed just that at Boundary Park.

Not only that, they also managed to see that the club's Chapel Road facility was suitable for the youth team's home game against Accrington Stanley earlier the same day.

Athletic were helped no end by the lending of a Toro ProCore machine by fan Steve Halley of Cheshire Turf machinery.

The aerating machine helped to puncture the soil and enhance drainage. Without it, the game faced being called off — which, so close to scheduled kick-off, would have led to Athletic being hit in the pocket for anything up to £15,000.

"We used the machine up to noon on game-day in order to make sure there was no standing water on the pitch," said Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy.

"Chris Bailey, Warren Caine and Daniel Doherty all took on extra responsibility to help us. Chris was out on the pitch from 9.30am to 2pm in the pouring rain, needing several changes of clothes.

"That the game went ahead is a tribute to their dedication."