Giant Axe pitch needs improvement work, says Lancaster City boss Mark Fell

Lancaster City manager Mark Fell has called for urgent work to be done on the Giant Axe pitch to improve the quality of football on show.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Fell admitted the Dolly Blues’ 0-0 draw with Atherton Collieries on New Year’s Day was a ‘slog-fest’, with the pitch difficult underfoot.

And he’s meeting with club officials about getting work done on the playing surface to bring it up to scratch.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Fell said: “If ourselves and Atherton had played on for another day, I don’t think either of us would have scored.

Mark Fell (photo: Tony North)Mark Fell (photo: Tony North)
Mark Fell (photo: Tony North)

“The pitch is a massive problem for us at the moment and it is stopping us playing the type of football I want.

“It was a bit of a slog-fest against Atherton, we are two strong, industrious sides but it was hard to play football.

“Did we test their keeper enough? No we didn’t. Our keeper only had one save to make in the game.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was one of our biggest crowds of the season and we couldn’t put a show on because the surface was horrendous.

“The pitch is cutting up, it is uneven. We’ve played at grounds where there wasn’t a lot of grass but at least those pitches were flat.

“Ours is inconsistent. My request to the club will be to do whatever we can to repair the pitch because we’ve got a lot of home games left.”

With the pitch being as it is, Lancaster will be glad to be on their travels on Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They head to the North Yorkshire coast to face Whitby Town at the Turnbull Ground.

City have a couple of key injuries, with Rhys Turner and Niall Cowperthwaite ruled out.

Said Fell: “We played them on the opening day and they’ve had a good season.

“They’ve got a very good striker in Jacob Hazel and we will go there without Rhys Turner who has hurt his groin. Niall Cowperwaite has broken two toes so he’s going to be out.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Support us and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.