VIDEO: Hole appears in Keepmoat pitch minutes before Doncaster Rovers' clash with Fleetwood Town

Doncaster Rovers' clash with Fleetwood Town had been in jeopardy after a hole appeared in the Keepmoat Stadium pitch mere minutes before kick-off.
The hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew RoeThe hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew Roe
The hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew Roe

The hole - approximately a foot in diameter - opened up just before the players came onto the pitch for their pre-game warm-up, sparking frantic repairs by groundstaff.

An irrigation pipe under the pitch suffered a puncture which leaked water and caused part of the surface to collapse.

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Rovers' groundstaff acted quickly to fill the hole with sand and re-turf the area under the supervision of match officials.

Referee Darren Drysdale was satisfied with the condition of the surface and the safety of the players and allowed the game to begin on time.

Just as well of Rovers who ran out 3-0 winners over Fleetwood.

Groundstaff had worked through the week to make repairs to the Keepmoat pitch, which has worsened in recent weeks.

The hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew RoeThe hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew Roe
The hole which appeared in the Keepmoat pitch prior to the game. Picture: Andrew Roe
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Work continued until a few hours before kick-off but they were called back into action with the unexpected issue.

Rovers boss Darren Ferguson said he knew nothing of the incident until repairs had been completed.

"I didn't know anything about it," Ferguson said.

"The referee went out for his warm-up and came back in and said 'I need you to take a look at a hole in the pitch.

A hole has appeared in the Keepmoat pitch before the clash with Fleetwood TownA hole has appeared in the Keepmoat pitch before the clash with Fleetwood Town
A hole has appeared in the Keepmoat pitch before the clash with Fleetwood Town

"I said 'how have the groundstaff not seen a hole in the pitch?'

"A sprinkler has been put in and it's just gone.

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"Thankfully it was dealt with and it was covered up because it could have been very dangerous.

"The groundstaff have worked tirelessly this week. They've all been at it late at night.

"It's not going to get any better because there's another game on it on Sunday.

"But both teams have to deal with it.

"It was better today than last week because of the effort that was put into it."