In amateur football, several matches have once again fallen victim to the weather in recent days. Heavy rain and above-freezing temperatures made the pitches unplayable. However, where matches did go ahead and there was no artificial turf, similar scenes likely unfolded as today in the English FA Cup.
The rock-bottom team of the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers, traveled to the fourth-division side (League Two) Grimsby Town.
Even though the pitch must have already looked wet, muddy, and pretty much unplayable after the warm-up, the referee blew the whistle and the match went ahead despite the difficult pitch conditions.
What followed were images showing very little green grass, but plenty of brown mud, puddles on the pitch, and clumps of mud flying around with almost every pass or shot attempt.
It’s often said that teams who aren’t quite so strong technically actually prefer muddy and wet pitches, where there can be no real flow to the game, as these are the perfect conditions for them to play to their strengths in tackles and fair physicality.
For a long time, this was also true for Grimsby: On the field, which soon resembled more of a ploughed field, the lower-league club held their own for a long time
After an hour, Santiago Bueno scored the lead for Wolves against the fourth-division side. It would remain the only goal of the afternoon, meaning: the Premier League club secured their place in the round of 16, even if, given the pitch conditions, it was hardly an enjoyable experience.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.