John Caulfield has conversion on artificial pitches

John Caulfield has been no fan of artificial pitches in the past but the Cork City manager seems to have been converted to the idea by the quality of BK Hacken’s 4G surface at the Bravida Stadium in Gothenburg on Thursday evening.

City claimed an excellent 1-1 draw against their more fancied Swedish opponents courtesy of Sean Maguire’s 64th-minute penalty and they played some stylish and effective football on a ground on which they had trained for two days previously.

Caulfield was strong in his criticisms of ‘plastic pitches’ ahead of his side’s date on the much-maligned surface at Oriel Park in Dundalk last March and he also voiced his sadness at the news that Derry City were looking to install artificial turf at the Brandywell.