This summer’s heat hits Florida grass hard

Portugalete did not start the season in the best way, far from it. Defeat and zero points at home against another of the teams that aspire to occupy the highest levels of the table, such as Leioa (0-1). It was a very tight match, with hardly any showy actions or dangerous chances to score more goals. Beyond the proposals of each of the teams or the footballers to carry them out, many of the eyes were on the deteriorated state of the pitch.

The lawn of La Florida had huge bald spots, large uninhabited areas of grass that made a very fluid game very complicated. The coaches themselves spoke about it in the press conference after the crash. “Without looking for excuses, the field hurts you because it is very slow and it gets up a lot,” said Patxi Salinas. For his part, Urtzi Arrondo, Leioa coach, commented that “it’s normal with the heat it’s doing.” “Our field is in a similar situation, with areas of little grass,” he added.

The club, responsible for the usual maintenance of the green, alleges that it has carried out “the same treatments as all the rest of the years.” Therefore, Eduardo Rivacoba, president of Portugalete, considers that what has made a dent in the field of play has been the very dry storm of recent months. “The heat and lack of rain this summer are bleeding,” he points out. Likewise, he reveals that “in the last ten days he has suffered an incredible deterioration.”

The highest president is “very concerned” about this situation. “The field cannot be like this,” he adds. He highlights that this concern is shared by all his board and, especially, the person in charge of the maintenance of the field. In addition, he believes that for the team that they have made up this campaign, “it influences us negatively.” And not only that. «He harms the team and the image of Portugalete», he emphasizes. Even more so considering that the state of the pitch has always been optimal, even becoming one of the club’s attractions.

Search for solutions

Faced with so much concern, it is logical that Portugalete has got down to work in search of solutions. In this sense, Eduardo Rivacoba states that “since last week, I have called the City Council so that they call the company that maintains the field and that they come to look at it, in case additional treatment is necessary.” Now it remains to be seen what is the response of these and what is all this mess. For the moment, the first team has its mind set on the next day, which will be played on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Txerloia against Anaitasuna.