Irish woes put to the sward

THE Irish players had harsh words for the Croke Park pitch, but stadium director Peter McKenna defended the controversial sward by comparing it to the best the Premiership has to offer.

All eyes were on the surface at GAA headquarters six weeks ago when Eddie O’Sullivan’s side took on France but worries over the hardness of the ground and its ability to stand up to the rigours of rugby proved unfounded.

Saturday was a different story. There were occasions when the ball bounced as though on a roulette wheel.

Ireland left the archaic stands and icy dressing rooms behind them when they took up temporary residence on the north side of the Liffey but, when asked if the pitch was as bad as the notorious Lansdowne Road version, Richard Dunne’s reply spared no feelings.

“Pretty much, to be honest. It wasn’t as good as we thought it would be. The stadium was magnificent and we were hoping the pitch would match that. It was a bit bumpy but that’s a bit of an excuse.

“It was the same for them because they seemed to pass it decently enough. The odd occasion it bounced up a bit. It’s been like that all week. They said that they would roll it and cut it for the game. I don’t know whether they did or not.”

The Croke Park authorities have always defended the oft-maligned underfoot conditions at the ground but ever since reconstruction work began and the new half-authentic, half-artificial grass was planted, it has met with widespread displeasure.

Many GAA players complained about how hard it was for the first number of years, with squads confounded about what studs to wear. The goalmouth at the Davin Stand underwent extensive surgery and one All-Ireland hurling final was affected when the grass was too long.

No expense has been spared in dealing with the issue in recent years — it cost €2.5 million to lay it in the first place — and McKenna reacted with genuine surprise when it was put to him that the pitch had been a major talking point on the afternoon.

“It was rolled,” he said. “In fact, the reaction from the Irish team management, Bobby Robson for example and the FAI officials, was very complimentary. I would be happy with it when you think of the time of the year that is in it as well. It certainly compares with anything that you will see in the Premiership.”

As the first soccer game to be played at the venue, teething problems are to be expected, and McKenna expressed particular delight with how the authorities dealt with the matter of segregation for the first time, although kick-off did run about five or six minutes late.

At least one Irish player did express his satisfaction with the playing base when asked afterwards but the consensus was that it certainly didn’t add to the occasion.

“It was very dry and sticky,” said Stephen Ireland. “Hopefully it might see a bit of water or get a roll before Wednesday night. I think they did all they could but it did dry up a bit as the game progressed, which made it harder.”

Even in scoring the only goal, Ireland seemed to find it difficult to control the ball and Welsh forward Craig Bellamy had similar difficulties when arrowing in on Shay Given’s goal for the first real chance of the game after half an hour.

At one point after the break, Welsh keeper Daniel Coyne almost suffered Paul Robinson’s fate in Croatia only for his shin to catch the mischievously bobbling ball on its way off the turf at speed.

The harshest words came from his opposite number who claimed that the pitch was actually a major reason for the difficulties the home team had in maintaining possession.

Said Shay Given: “It was very bumpy and hard to play football on.

“That was probably the biggest disappointment of the whole stadium — that the pitch was a bit of a let-down. Had it been a bit shorter and a bit slicker, it would have been easier to pass it a bit better.”

But the question has to be asked: is it fair or feasible for any surface to stand up to numerous games in four different sports in a matter of five weeks?