A proper football surface that suits the Reds’ passing game has been assured by the Adelaide Oval curator for Friday night’s blockbuster Hyundai A-League Elimination Final in the South Australian capital.
Adelaide United will host the defending champions Brisbane Roar FC at the much bigger capacity venue rather than their regular-season home ground of Coopers Stadium.
The Reds were disappointed with the standard of the Adelaide Oval pitch when they hosted Melbourne Victory their earlier this season.
Finals Series fixtures confirmed
They felt the hard and fast surface – right in the middle of the cricket season – affected the quality of their performance.
But Oval curator Damian Hough has eased any concerns of Josep Gombau and his side, adamant the pitch will be just like Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
“[Tuesday] we’ll start cutting in the pattern for soccer,’’ Hough told the Adelaide Advertiser (www.adelaidenow.com.au).
“That will be straight across like Coopers Stadium and that’s their set pattern for every game. Then aeration will happen.”
Hough told the Adelaide Advertiser he had been working with the FFA’s handbook of world class pitches to ensure the surface is up to top standard.
The grass will be cut 25mm while the dimensions will be 105m x 68m – both the same as at Coopers Stadium.
The Reds will be looking for any advantage they can get as they look to stay alive in the Finals Series by ending a shocking home record against Roar.
Adelaide hasn’t won any of their last eight home matches against Brisbane – losing seven of those.
More than 30,000 attended the Reds-Victory blockbuster at Adelaide Oval earlier this season with officials hoping for a similar attendance on Friday night.
Both sides are expected to train at the venue in the lead up to Friday night.
