Newcastle pledge £15,000 to help AFC Wimbledon after ‘sinkhole’ pitch

Newcastle, who were due to play AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup, have pledged £15,000 to help their flooded pitch.

AFC Wimbledon’s stadium at Plough Lane was left under water, suffering significant damage when the River Wandle broke its banks on Sunday night.

The club had been due to host Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, but the match will instead be played at the Premier League side’s home ground of St James’s Park on Tuesday, October 1.

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.”

A JustGiving page has been set up by fan Graham Stacey to raise funds to help Wimbledon fix the flood damage to their stadium, and they have set the target of £50,000, which has now been reached, in large part because of the Premier League club.

The River Wandle had not broken its banks before the weekend since the 1960s, but more than a month of rainfall fell on Sunday and Monday in parts of England.

For AFC Wimbledon, they are reportedly looking for another ground to host Accrington Stanley on Saturday, and their match against Crewe, scheduled for October 1 has been postponed.

The club’s managing director James Woodroof told BBC Radio London over “100,000 litres” had been pumped out of the stadium.

“I woke up to images from my stadium team. I thought it was AI [artificial intelligence],” he said.

“The entire stadium, the concourse and ground floor, was under water. It was horrendous. The pitch has significant damage.

“We filled four tankers, which house 27,000 litres each – over 100,000 litres.”