| Organisers seek to improve pitch before quarters |
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| Friday, 22 January 2010 | |
 The ptiches in Angola look is a farm garden The pitch has been criticised by teams for its poor surface and looseness that has affected the quality of play. “The pitch of the Luanda stadium was the last to be laid of the four venues,” Antonio Mangueira, the executive director of the Local Organising Committee said. "It also hosted the opening ceremony and had over 3,000 people trampling on it. "It has deteriorated but it will be much improved by Sunday." Since the opening ceremony on January 10, five matches have been held on the pitch over an eight-day period. By the fifth match on Monday, when Angola played Algeria, the surface was increasingly looking like a farm garden with unsightly patches constantly springing up under the pressure of pounding boots. Ghana’s Serbian coach Milovan Rejavac said the pitch was not the best for football while Mali star striker Frederic Kanoute said it was dangerous for the players. Ghana brought in the continental pitch expert Frank Boahene to advice the Black Stars on the footwear and approach towards the game, as the bad pitches have been blamed for some injuries in the team. The ground will have five days to recover before the first day of the quarter-finals on Sunday. Luanda has been hot, dry and humid since the tournament began. |
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