Hawks confident Pompey clash will go ahead

Thunder and lightning accompanied a deluge of rain yesterday as the south coast was once again hit.

The constant bad weather has inevitably raised doubts over the likelihood of Saturday’s Westleigh Park friendly taking place (3pm kick-off).

However, Hawks secretary Trevor Brock has been swift to allay such fears.

The Blue Square Bet South side spent £50,000 on improving their pitch’s drainage a year ago in a bid to combat such problems.

And Brock is confident the traditional pre-season occasion will not be washed out.

He said: ‘Even now the pitch is absolutely rock hard. The chances of it being off are nil.

‘We’ve had problems in the past, but last year we had a completely new drainage system put in, involving ripping the whole surface off.

‘Effectively, it has started from scratch.

‘The people who put it in told us we could play five matches a week all-year round and it would still be in decent nick.

‘Of course, never say never. But there is absolutely no chance of it being off at this stage.

‘We have not had a game off since the new draining was put in.

‘The only one called off last year was down to frost – then again, most of the south coast was affected by frozen pitches at the time.’

Meanwhile, Pompey will face Brighton in a friendly during their tour to Spain.

The fixture against Gus Poyet’s men will take place on Tuesday, July 24, at the Barcello Montecastillo Resort in Cadiz (6pm, Spanish time).

The Blues will also take on Gibraltar on Friday, July 20, kick off 8pm.