New date set for Glentoran's postponed Irish Cup clash after Declan Devine pointed to event which did 'irreparable damage'
Glentoran’s Irish Cup sixth round clash against Drumaness Mills has been rescheduled for a new date after Saturday's postponement.
The Oval failed a pitch inspection at 11am ahead of the visit of Amateur League side Drumaness with the Glens pointing to “prolonged and heavy spells of rain”.
With the six remaining Irish Cup matches set to go ahead on Saturday as teams look to join Limavady United in the quarter-finals, Glentoran vs Drumaness Mills has now been confirmed for Tuesday, February 17 (7:45pm kick-off).
It’s the latest match called off at the East Belfast venue – last month’s Premiership clash with Cliftonville was postponed while a BetMcLean Cup semi-final showdown against Coleraine was rescheduled due to damage and flooding caused by Storm Chandra.
In September, Glentoran’s home league meeting with Larne was called off around an hour before kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch.
Many grass pitches across the Irish League have struggled to contend with recent weather conditions – Ballymena United had to postpone four matches, including two attempts to play their Irish Cup tie against Larne, throughout January.
Glentoran manager Declan Devine defended the club’s groundsman earlier this month and believes hosting Northern Ireland’s U21s European Championship qualifier in torrential rainfall back in mid-November had a devastating impact on their pitch.
Postponements will leave Devine’s men with a busy fixture list – they currently have to reschedule an away league trip to Ballymena which was called off on January 11 and a home clash against Cliftonville.
"The one thing I will say is our groundsman works harder than any groundsman,” Devine told BBC Sportsound. “Sammy is outstanding, he does a lot of work behind the scenes.
"You can’t legislate for the weather, but one of the biggest factors for me was Northern Ireland U21s against Latvia, I think that did irreparable damage to the pitch and surface.
"Anytime there has been adverse weather, it has taken its toll. We will be doing everything in our power, Sammy has been working so hard on it over recent weeks. We want to get back to The Oval and get our home form bang at it.”