Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny feels that Easter Monday’s EA Sports Cup tie with St Patrick’s Athletic should have went ahead at Richmond Park.
The second round tie was called off after referee Adriano Reale deemed the pitch to be unsafe following heavy rain in Inchicore, a decision that left both clubs unhappy.
Kenny and his players also inspected the surface before the decision was made and speaking to Dundalk Sport afterwards, the Lilywhites boss felt it was the wrong decision to postpone the tie.
“In my view there’s no reason for it to be off. There’s absolutely no surface water on the pitch. I’ve played hundreds of games where the pitch has been a lot worse than that.”
The match was called off at 1:50pm, just 70 minutes before it was due to kick-off, and Kenny said that it never occurred to him that it might not go ahead.
“It never entered my head when I walked in here today that it would be off,” he stated. “I finished my team talk and had already picked the team when I got the news. It hadn’t occurred to me that it would be off so I’m very surprised.”
A date for the reschedule fixture has to be confirmed but both clubs expect it to go ahead next Monday night, April 9th, at the same venue.
“It is what it is,” said Kenny. “It’s a matter of opinion. We just have to get ready for the rescheduled game which looks like it will be next Monday as that’s the only available date.”
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