Galway United manager Shane Keegan and goalscorer Kevin Devaney raised concerns at the state of the pitch at Finn Park following last night’s one-all draw with Finn Harps.
The surface at the Ballybofey venue has been a talking point since Harps’ return to the Premier Division last season.
Despite Harps undertaking a big post-Christmas improvement project on the pitch, at a cost believed to have been in excess of €20,000, visiting bosses John Caulfuield (Cork City) and now Keegan have voiced their displeasure.
Following the Cork City game a fortnight ago, Harps groundstaff again carried out a series of repair works.
However, last night, the pitch, in particular in large areas on the stand side, cut up badly.
“The pitch is horrendous here,” Devaney – whose goal early in the second half saw Galway level after Sean Houston struck for Harps – offered.
“It’s very tough. You can feel it. My hamstring’s are burning. That pitch really takes it out of you.”
Keegan revealed that he had prepared his men for the mushy Finn Park during the week in training at Fahy’s Field. “We talked a lot about it when we trained. We have two pitches at our training complex, one which is referred to as ‘the good pitch’ and the other which is called ‘the bad pitch’.
“You normally ask for the good one on the last training session before a game, but this week we specifically asked to get on the bad one.”
Keegan was at a loss to figure out how his side hadn’t claimed the full three points last night.
He said: “When you hit the woodwork four times, it doesn’t take much talk from me to say how disappointed we are.
“We did really, really deliver in the second half. What we did in that second half ticked a lot of boxes for us. Two words: Positives, frustration.”
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