Artificial pitches contributing to Derry and Dundalk's lengthy injury list: claims Stephen O'Donnell

​STEPHEN O'Donnell believes the artificial pitches at both Oriel Park and Brandywell are contributing significantly to Dundalk and Derry City's well documented injury problems.
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​The astro turf pitch at Brandywell has long been a bone of contention for Derry boss Ruaidhri Higgins with the club publicly correlating the significantly increased incidence of injuries with the instalment of the 4G surface back in 2018 in a meeting with Derry City and Strabane District Council last December.

The FAI has also advised Derry City that the pitch is 'unlikely to be fit for elite level soccer beyond the 2023 season’.

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The surface at Oriel Park in the warm afternoon sunshine on Sunday was bone-dry and O'Donnell claimed it has got to the point where it's not just unconducive to free-flowing football but is 'actually injuring players'.

Dundalk centre half Andy Boyle sustained a calf injury in the pre-match warm-up and was replaced by Darragh Leahy while Greg Sloggett landed awkwardly on his ankle after contesting a header towards the end of the first half.

O'Donnell made a point to address his concerns about the state of the pitch at Oriel afterwards and insists there's no coincidence that Derry and Dundalk have been hit worst with an alarming spate of injuries.

"They are the two teams with the most injuries and we know what the correlation is,” said O’Donnell. "It’s gone beyond probably a point of not a great surface to watch football on – it’s actually injuring players.

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"Muscle injuries, there is no give on it. You go up for a header and if you don’t land square on the ball of your foot, you’re doing your ankle ligaments or doing your knee.

Dundalk's Greg Sloggett and Derry City's Jordan McEneff clash at Oriel Park. Photo by Kevin Moore.Dundalk's Greg Sloggett and Derry City's Jordan McEneff clash at Oriel Park. Photo by Kevin Moore.
Dundalk's Greg Sloggett and Derry City's Jordan McEneff clash at Oriel Park. Photo by Kevin Moore.

“I’m speculating but all I know is we get a lorry load of injuries and Derry get a lot of injuries. I'd just be a bit worried about the injury count. Is it a coincidence?”

O’Donnell is certainly not alone in his opinion about 4G pitches and League of Ireland legend and pundit Alan Cawley also weighed in on the debate on social media.

“Agree totally with Stevie O’Donnell regarding those pitches,” he tweeted. “Costing both himself and Derry City. They shouldn’t be allowed at the highest level of football blue in the face saying it.”