Saarbrücken coach sure that pitch won't be an issue for Cup game
Saarbrücken coach Rüdiger Ziehl is sure that the German Cup semi-final match between his team and Kaiserslautern will go ahead as planned on Tuesday and without issues with the pitch.
"If it doesn't get extreme, the pitch has a playable surface. I was surprised that the pitch was in good condition," Ziehl said on Monday.
Saarbrücken's quarter-finals home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, originally scheduled for February 7, was cancelled shortly before kick-off due to a water-logged pitch.
The games was rescheduled for March 12 and the hosts won 2-1.
The quality of the third division team's pitch, which has no drainage system, has frequently been discussed and due to the recent rainfall there were concerns that the match against Kaiserslautern could also be postponed.
Ziehl said he has already inspected the pitch himself ahead of the Cup match on Tuesday.
"The pitch looked good on Saturday morning. It was a smart decision to put the tarpaulin back on yesterday (Sunday)," the coach said.
Saarbrücken are writing a fairytale story in the German Cup. Besides Gladbach, they have already knocked out record champions Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ziehl, however, was surprised that Kaiserslautern coach Friedhelm Funkel assigned Saarbrücken the role of favourites to advance to the final in Berlin on May 25.
"If I had heard that for the first time today, I would have thought it was an April Fool's joke. You can't take anything from the wins against Bayern, Frankfurt and Gladbach. It has no relevance to tomorrow's game," he said.
