Saarbrücken coach sure that pitch won't be an issue for Cup game

DPA
·2 min read
Saarbruecken coach Ruediger Ziehl gestures from the touchline during the German DFB Cup round of 16 soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Eintracht Frankfurt at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Saarbruecken coach Ruediger Ziehl gestures from the touchline during the German DFB Cup round of 16 soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Eintracht Frankfurt at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa
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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.

Kaiserslautern will be without top striker Ragnar Ache, coach Funkel said.

"He's no longer injured. But we won't take any risks. He won't be involved," Funkel said. Ache has scored 14 goals in the current second division season. He was recently sidelined with a muscle injury.

"We're preparing for the game like a league match. But you don't play a semi-final every day. I'm looking forward to the game," Funkel said.

Some 1,840 Kaiserslautern fans are expected to attend the match at the sold out Ludwigspark stadium. Tickets for the game were sold out in record time and Kaiserslautern have organized a public viewing at their Fritz Walter stadium. So far, 16,500 tickets have been sold for the event.