Shamrock Rovers have apologised over the late postponement of Sunday night’s League of Ireland Premier Division clash against Cork City at Tallaght Stadium due to a waterlogged pitch.
A statement released on Sunday night outlined the timeline behind the three pitch inspections that took place ahead of the game, the final one coming at 5.15 after which the game was postponed just 45 minutes before kick-off.
The statement read: “It was with great regret that we were forced into the postponement of this evening’s SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division fixture between Shamrock Rovers and Cork City at Tallaght Stadium.
“The pitch was passed playable in the first pitch inspection at 11:15 this morning and with more rain forecast amid changeable weather conditions, it was agreed with both clubs that a second inspection would take place at 16:00.
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“The pitch was deemed playable at this juncture and unfortunately a torrential downpour occurred after the second pitch inspection which made the pitch unplayable.
“We would like to thank the match officials and ground staff in trying to get the game to go ahead and we apologise to supporters for the disappointment caused after they made great efforts in travelling to today’s game to support their clubs.”
Tallaght Stadium has had heavy use over the past four days, with Rovers losing out in a penalty shoot-out to Molde in the Uefa Conference League after 120 minutes of football on Thursday, before Carla Ward’s first game in charge of the Republic of Ireland ended in 1-0 win over Turkey at the same venue on Friday night.
A number of matches were also postponed in the Allianz Hurling League on Sunday, including the big Division 1A meeting of Kilkenny and Limerick at Nowlan Park. The Division 1B meeting of Laois and Carlow at O’Moore Park and Division 3 game between Cavan and Armagh at Breffni Park were also lost to unplayable pitches.
