Meadow Lane pitch passes inspection but review planned for the morning...
The Meadow Lane playing surface has passed a pitch inspection on Friday ahead of this weekend’s npower League 1 game against Sheffield United, but the club will review the situation at 9:30am on Saturday.
Freezing conditions across the country have already seen a number of npower League 1 games fall foul of the weather and prompted Notts to organise a pitch inspection for Friday afternoon.
Local referee Nigel Smith arrived at the ground slightly earlier than planned and conducted the inspection at around 12pm, testing several areas of the pitch, which has been covered since late last week.
Having conducted a thorough inspection, the official is happy that the covers have done their job and the pitch is playable, which is testament to the hard work of the groundstaff throughout the week.
Players and coaches from the Notts County Youth Team, as well as Ticket Office staff and volunteers from club sponsors On-Call Recruitment have been helping clear the snow from on top of the frost covers this afternoon in preparation for the game going ahead on Saturday.
However, with further snow and icy conditions expected overnight, the club have decided to review the position at 9:30am on Saturday to assess both the pitch and the surrounding area to ensure that Meadow Lane is safe and ready to stage the game.
The club have asked match referee Mark Haywood, who has replaced Carl Berry, to arrive at the ground at this time to help assess the ground and make a final decision on whether the game can go ahead as planned.
We will bring you a further update here on the club’s official website once this review has taken place on Saturday morning.