Pitch fears as Kinnoull welcome Oakley

Kinnoull manager Alan Cameron was not holding out much hope of football being played this weekend.

He revealed earlier this week that the Tulloch Park surface was already dealing with standing water in numerous locations.

The Perth side, however, have trained as normal and will be ready for a league tussle with Oakley United if the game gets the green light.

“The pitch is in really rough condition,”Cameron said.“There is probably eight or nine areas that have surface water on it.

“We’ve played Oakley a couple of times this season and both games have been extremely close.

“They beat us in one of the cups - and went onto the final - but we snuck the league encounter with a late goal.

“It will be nip and tuck. And it sounds like a cliché but whoever turns up on the day will have the best chance of getting the three points.

“Both teams are more than capable.”

Kinnoull’s backlog of fixtures has increased after their King Cup clash at Stirling University was wiped out because of the weather last week.

“I’d hoped we might have got onto an astroturf pitch but the game was called off on the Friday afternoon,” Cameron said.

“A bit like our pitch, it was covered in water. The game will now be played next Wednesday night.

“I used to love midweek games as a player but, as a manager, you stress out because people are working away and jobs come first.

“We’ve got 21 games to go and less Saturdays to play them. I think we’re only 13 Saturdays away from when the games need to be played.”

On the squad front, Cameron will be missing two or three bodies this weekend but should still have strong options to choose from.

He said:“Alan Cunningham picked up an ankle knock earlier in the week.

“But I’m hoping he might be fit. We’re still missing Gordon Chalmers and Gordon Norrie, both are unavailable.”