Grantham Town: Club switch FA Cup tie to Rugby Town after crows damage pitch
- Published
Grantham manager Matt Chatfield must now prepare his side for a series of matches away from The Meres
Grantham Town have switched their home FA Cup first qualifying round tie to the ground of opponents Rugby Town after crows damaged their pitch.
The Lincolnshire club had to postpone Monday's league game against Worksop after areas of the pitch were torn up.
The crows were looking for chafer grubs, which have infested the playing surface for the past few weeks.
If the cup tie ends in a draw and a replay is needed, it will also be played at Rugby's Butlin Road ground.
Grantham have begun repair work on the pitch, but have also launched a crowdfunding appeal to help meet the costs.
At 11:00 BST on Wednesday, almost £3,000 of the £20,000 they need had been donated.
It is thought the club will not be able to play at home for the next four to six weeks.
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"It means reversing all our fixtures, we've got an FA Cup game that would have brought some money into the club, we've got our FA Trophy game that has to be reversed," manager Matt Chatfield told the BBC.
"The whole club itself is stagnant now because the under-23s can't play on it, out National Alliance team can't play on it, so it's not just the pitch that's suffering."