Cove Rangers’ trip to Dundee has been postponed due to stadium damage at Dens Park caused by the severe weather.
Dundee had stated early on Friday that the game would be in doubt, due to the condition of not just the pitch but other areas of the stadium.
The Dark Blues had requested an earlier pitch inspection from the SPFL, which had initially been rejected with the league prepared to wait until Saturday morning.
However, it appears a U-turn was necessary, with the club confirming at 3.30pm on Friday that the game would not take place.
Tomorrow’s cinch Championship match between Dundee and Cove Rangers has been postponed due to stadium damage caused by the severe weather #thedee pic.twitter.com/9WC4HEiolB
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) December 16, 2022
Dundee released a statement on Friday morning laying bare their concerns about the fixture, after the continuation of the wintry conditions across the region.
A club statement read: “Despite our undersoil heating being on since Monday, the freezing conditions and last night’s heavy snowfall have meant that the pitch is now in a state that would put players’ safety at risk.
“Furthermore, the decision has already had to be made by the club that due to frozen pipes some stands would have to remain closed for tomorrow’s fixture if it went ahead.
“Our experienced ground staff have been hard at work this week but unfortunately, the unprecedented cold weather has meant that the surrounding areas inside and outside the stadium are also dangerous.
“We, therefore, requested an early pitch inspection to give supporters as much notice as possible as it’s our belief that this fixture will not go ahead. However, regrettably, the SPFL has decided to delay an inspection until tomorrow morning so we cannot give spectators as early a decision as we would have wished.”
Cove will next be in action on Friday December 23, with Hamilton Accies due to visit the Balmoral Stadium.
They are going to be without former Aberdeen defender Shay Logan, who was substituted in the 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle a fortnight ago due to an ongoing calf problem.
“Shay’s calf has not recovered and he’s had a scan on it,” said manager Jim McIntyre. “He’s had an ongoing issue for a while and it’s come to a head.
“We’ll just wait and see what progresses but I imagine it will be a couple of weeks at least.”
On-loan defender Kyle McClelland has been completing his rehabilitation with parent club Hibernian and will rejoin Cove training next week.