Melbourne City coach John van’t Schip says the surface of AAMI Park will not be an excuse for his side ahead of the elimination final against Perth Glory on Sunday.
Football fans will eagerly anticipate the extent of the damage done to the pitch after a rugby union match between Melbourne Rebels and Hurricanes took place at the stadium on Friday night.
This AAMI Park pitch during the Rebels and Hurricanes #SuperRugby game is awful. pic.twitter.com/NwxZ1TC9DH
— EatSleepRugby (@eatsleeprugby) April 15, 2016
However, Van’t Schip wasn’t too worried about the prospect of playing on a worn-out pitch.
“It doesn’t help the game want to play, but that’s the period of the year that we’re in. All the teams who are sharing the pitch with other codes have to cope with it,” he said.
“I was very happy with the pitch the last game we played, the result wasn’t good, but the pitch was in a better shape. I’m confident that the pitch will be in the best possible shape tomorrow.”
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The issue of a less than ideal pitch is not unprecedented in the A-League this season – the Big Blue clash between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC on Australia day came after Etihad Stadium was being used for cricket’s T20 Big Bash league.
Friday night’s elimination final between Brisbane Roar and Victory also raised eyebrows at Suncorp Stadium after two rugby games played last week.
The City boss also criticised the look of the pitch, but was putting faith the surface will be in the best interest of their game.
“No, I’m confident they will put the best possible pitch up there for us. It’s not a good time not only for us,” he said.
“Looking at the game yesterday evening. I thought the pitch was terrible as well in Brisbane.”
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