All hands on deck as big match approaches
The grounds of Maria Immaculata College were a hive of activity as the finishing touches were being put to the pitch and surrounding area to transform it into a ground capable of holding a bumper crowd of 7,000.
Even the players due to line out against the might of The Pool were chipping in and helping out.
Striker Jerry McCarthy, who scored an impressive 27 goals in 27 games last season, was even lugging barriers around the ground.
His team-mate Keith Sheehan had to be hand-fed a square of a Yorkie bar, he was so busy carrying parts of the makeshift stand around.
A busy Dunmanway Town AFC manager John Buckley said he had been inundated with calls in the past few months but said he wouldn’t change a minute of it.
“This has been a dream come true, it really has. It’s been mad busy here but I wouldn’t change a second of it. I have been a lifelong Liverpool fan and to actually play against them will be incredible,” he said.
Thursday’s game will also see a substantial increase in attendance for the local side.
“Obviously, we won’t have played to a crowd like this. It’s going to be great. We would usually have around 20 people and maybe a guy with a deck chair,” said the team manager.
The fixture has certainly caught the attention of the media, with Sky Sports News rumoured to be covering the game, while Dunmanway’s Wikipedia page was updated within a week of the announcement of the fixture.
Most of the team were in attendance at the pitch yesterday and looked far too busy to be nervous about the game.
Team captain and the man who made the call to Anfield, David Hall, was running all over the ground yesterday making sure everything was in order.
“Well, I put in the first call but it was a lot more than one call I can tell you. It’s going to be a great event and the pitch looks great,” he said.
In fact, the pitch looked worthy to grace an encounter between any two teams and the two people responsible for the pitch will be working on it right up to kick-off.
Father and son duo, John and Shane Burke from Cork Sportsground Services, have been putting in the hours in the past few weeks to make sure the ground is in perfect condition for tomorrow’s game.
“It’s a privilege to be involved. I never thought I would be working on something as big as this. When we started it wasn’t in good enough condition to hold a soccer match, but we stitched in new seeds four weeks ago and fertilised it last Saturday,” said John.
The fixture is drawing such attention that two ardent Liverpool fans from Dublin were in Dunmanway yesterday, two days before kickoff, hoping to get a ticket but to no avail.
However, for those who fancy a slightly more upmarket experience, there are 100 corporate tickets still available for the game. All of the general admission tickets at €40 have sold out.
For €100 you get reserved seats in the main stand and complimentary access to the Bulmers and Diageo lounges.
Corporate tickets can be purchased by calling 086-3640888.
Only match ticket holders or accredited media will be allowed entry inside the security cordon at the venue.
Temporary car parks will be provided for match traffic and only match ticket holders will be allowed entry to these.
Match kick-off is at 2pm and stiles open at 12pm.
