Miguel Cardoso has disclosed details of a conversation with the Loftus Versfeld Stadium greenkeeper regarding the much-criticised pitch after Mamelodi Sundowns thrashed Orlando Pirates 4-1 on Saturday.
A sold-out crowd in Pretoria witnessed Sundowns’ impressive victory, but the Betway Premiership encounter was marred by the poor pitch conditions.
The excessively watered and bumpy pitch visibly affected Pirates. Their players struggled to maintain their footing and ultimately changed boots after 30 minutes of play during the cooling break. However, the damage was already done, with Sundowns leading 2-0.
The cause of the extensive damage to the Loftus Versfeld pitch, shared by Sundowns and The Blue Bulls, remains unclear. The surface was in good condition for the Tshwane giants’ Nedbank Cup Last 32 tie against Sibanye Golden Stars on January 25th, even after the Bulls played Stade Français there a week prior.
However, Cardoso, who had previously expressed his dissatisfaction with the pitch, stated that the greenkeeper had informed him of plans to dry the turf, undertake maintenance, and plant 60kg of new seed.
This pitch remediation is likely in preparation for two PSL football matches and two major rugby fixtures at Loftus Versfeld this month. The Bulls will host The Sharks [February 15th] and Lions [February 22nd] in the United Rugby Championship [URC], while Sundowns face Mpheni Home Defenders [February 16th] in the Nedbank Cup and TS Galaxy [February 22nd] in a league match.
MIGUEL CARDOSO ON LOFTUS PITCH: ‘OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE EVEN WORSE’
“I can confess that during the week, every day, I received reports on the work that has been done on the pitch,” said Cardoso. “Our team of people, our greenkeepers, were at the venue every day working on this pitch; otherwise, it would be even worse.
“But there are things we don’t control. We don’t control the events that happen here; we don’t control the games that happen here. The stadium is not ours, so it’s not our responsibility because the pitch is like this.
“We fight to have it better, we pay to have it better, so we work on the pitch to have it better. And at the end of the game, I don’t know if you saw: I was on the pitch, speaking with the greenkeeper, and he was already explaining to me what kind of work he was starting tomorrow [Sunday].
“He’s going to remove all the dry turf and work on it, and he’s going to plant 60kg of new seeds, so we are working on the pitch, believe me. At half-time, he came to us and asked, ‘Should I water the pitch?’ and I said no because it’s very slippery, so with more water, it would’ve been worse.
“So we work as much as possible for the quality of the pitch; I defend as much as possible the quality of the pitch because we want to play good football; we want to defend a spectacle.
“I even said to the people from the club, ‘from now on, except the big games’ I prefer to play at Lucas Moripe [Stadium].”
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