The freezing weather didn’t stop hundreds of fans from heading to Kingsmeadow to see Chelsea take on Liverpool this afternoon but a little over five minutes in, the match was abandoned due to a frozen pitch, a decision which should have been made hours before.
An initial pitch inspection took place at 9.30 am, leaving fans with an agonising 40-minute wait before being informed that the game was on. From entering the ground and making the walk up to the press box, the pitch left little to be desired. Still partially covered, the groundsmen were using rakes and blowers to try and get the ground into the best possible condition whilst the fog set so low that you could barely see the West Stand. This should have been the first red flag.
Eyebrows were raised in the press box, we were thinking ‘surely this cannot go ahead’. The ground looked as hard as rocks and as the players made their way out to warm up, they were visibly concerned. Despite those worries, everything seemed to be going ahead, although warm-ups were taking place on half of the pitch as the other half was still covered.
With kick-off approaching, attention drew towards the match itself with Chelsea looking to gain revenge on Liverpool for their 2-1 opening day defeat at Prenton Park. What happened next feels a little like a fever dream. Play begins and Liverpool enjoy a sprightly start but it looks more like the players are ice skating than playing football with slips and slides occurring all over the pitch, giving Torvill and Dean a serious run for their money.
The rounds of questions began when play came to a halt. The two respective managers entered the field and everyone congregated in the middle of the pitch. The Liverpool players then began making their way to the fans, applauding them whilst the officials and the Chelsea staff and players exited the field. A game that should never have started had been abandoned.
Speaking following the postponement, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said “The decision is wrong in terms of the timing but right in terms of the players.”
Liverpool boss Matt Beard then spoke to the media. He said “Neither us nor Chelsea should have been put in this position.”
Beard also commented on how he didn’t want the game to go ahead and was confused about how it did. In his view, the risk of a major injury occurring if the play had been allowed for the full 90 minutes would’ve been astronomical.
What should have been a highly-anticipated clash, albeit a cold one, turned into a flurry of anger over the decision-making of allowing the game to commence. The frustration was aimed in the direction of the referee.
There are two major takeaways from this afternoon’s events. The first debate is regarding the desperate need for more funding to allow for the installation of undersoil heating to protect pitches from cold weather and secondly, how did the pitch pass the initial pitch inspection, especially with players and managers questioning the state of the ground?
Player safety has to be paramount and allowing play to commence in conditions like those at Kingsmeadow is unacceptable in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Lessons must be learnt if the women’s elite game is to reach its desired heights in years to come.