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National South sides Ebbsfleet United and Dartford get their midweek games on despite the snow

The hard work paid off for Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb after helping clear the snow from the pitch ahead of their midweek game against Hampton.

Shortly after Kutrieb had helped the groundstaff and volunteers clear the snow off the surface his team ran out 2-1 winners against Hampton & Richmond on Tuesday night.

Ebbsfleet United worked hard to clear their pitch ahead of the Hampton & Richmond game Picture: @EUFCOfficial Twitter
Ebbsfleet United worked hard to clear their pitch ahead of the Hampton & Richmond game Picture: @EUFCOfficial Twitter

The league game at the Kuflink Stadium - hastily arranged after original midweek opponents Slough Town refused to play - had been in doubt after snowfall led to the pitch being covered but Fleet were determined to play and after several hours of hard work it was game on.

Kutrieb thanked those who had helped clear the pitch so that they could play, tweeting: “Massive thanks to all helping hands and the great efforts from our volunteers at Ebbsfleet and the Jordans Team (who look after the pitch).”

Ebbsfleet United's pitch before it was cleared to host Hampton & Richmond Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC
Ebbsfleet United's pitch before it was cleared to host Hampton & Richmond Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC

Once the pitch had been cleared a local referee declared the surface fine to play on and the match officials agreed.

Chief exec Damian Irvine added his thanks, writing: “Huge thanks to the dedicated team at Jordans, great partners and huge effort.”

Fleet won the game with goals from Rakish Bingham and Alfie Egan.

Neighbours and league rivals Dartford also put the effort in and got their match played, but lost 1-0 against Eastbourne Borough at Princes Park.

The staff and volunteers at Dartford also worked hard to clear the snow and the pitch passed an inspection, with head groundsman Jay Berkhauer tweeting: “what a day!”. Sadly they were unable to finish it with three points.

Other non-league games in the National League were off because of the weather, including Dover’s match against Maidenhead United at Crabble,

Maidstone United’s game against Dorking Wanderers at the Gallagher stadium and Tonbridge Angels’ trip to Concord.

The weather meant League 1 Gillingham were unable to train on Monday and Tuesday but a pitch had been cleared at their Beechings Cross ground on Wednesday to allow some outdoor work to take place ahead of their match at Charlton on Saturday.

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