- Heavy rainfall has severely damaged AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane pitch
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
A sinkhole caused by heavy flooding has appeared on the pitch at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane, forcing the postponement of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Newcastle.
Pictures show an area near the corner flag of the League Two ground looking more like a golf course, where the pitch has collapsed and sandy bunkers have emerged.
It has left the pitch unplayable after a fortnight’s worth of rain fell overnight on Monday. Streets around the stadium are also flooded, as are car parks.
It means the game will now be played at St James’ Park next Tuesday after both clubs and the EFL agreed that a venue change was the quickest way to fulfil the fixture.
The possibility of switching to St James’ this week was deemed too short a notice period for policing and ticketing, while an alternative venue in London was also ruled out for the same reasons.
The full extent of the damage at Plough Lane can now revealed after heavy rainfall in London
The large sinkholes have made a corner of the Plough Lane pitch resemble a golf course
The heavy rainfall has created sinkholes that stretch to a corner of the penalty area
A Wimbledon statement read: ‘We regret to inform fans that due to extensive overnight flooding of the River Wandle, Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round fixture against Newcastle United has been postponed.’
Newcastle now have a full week to prepare for Saturday’s visit of Manchester City in the Premier League.
Toon fans have also joked that it needed an act of God for their team to get a home tie in the cup, after being drawn away from home in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup on the last eight occasions.
Eddie Howe’s pre-match press conference was cancelled just 25 minutes before he was due to speak to the media on Monday morning.
Newcastle face Manchester City on Saturday and travel to Everton the week after, before the international break. Wimbledon are due to face Crewe in the league next Tuesday.
Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villla, and Leicester City are also supposed to be in action in midweek.
A prominent podcast covering the League Two club, The Wombles had a Dream, claims that even the changing rooms at Wimbledon are flooded after pumps at the stadium failed.
It means Newcastle’s fixture at Wimbledon’s Plough Lane has been called off as a result
Part of the pitch at Plough Lane has been damaged due to the intense rainfall in Wimbledon
Both clubs have a headache over where and when to play the Carabao Cup third-round match
A neutral venue can be used while there is the possibility of playing on fourth-round dates
A video filmed from a flat near the stadium shows the extent of the flooding in and around it
The flooding comes amid Great Britain’s ‘megastorm’. Commuters faced a chaotic start to the week today with journeys delayed by heavy downpours that caused ‘significant’ flooding and travel chaoson Monday morning.
Roads were deluged and train lines blocked after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in some areas around London and the Home Counties between midnight and 8am.
Four London Underground lines were part-suspended due to flooding this morning – the Bakerloo, District, Metropolitan and Piccadilly – in addition to the Overground.
Heavy rain overnight has caused some roads to flood in Essex this morning, as pictured above
A vehicle is driven through floodwater in Dunsden, Oxfordshire, this morning after heavy rain
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for all of today, and an amber warning until 9pm
The Met Office activated an amber warning for parts of central and South West England until 9pm amid concerns flooded roads could cut off some communities.
A wider yellow warning is running for all of today, covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and into North West England and Yorkshire.
Some affected areas could see up to 120mm (4.7in) of rain throughout today and forecasters warned there may be more weather warnings imposed later this week.
