Fans praise Newcastle’s classy gesture as club donates £15,000 to fix AFC Wimbledon sinkhole after fixture postponed
NEWCASTLE have been praised for donating £15,000 towards helping AFC Wimbledon deal with their flooded pitch.
The Wombles had been due to host Eddie Howe‘s side in the Carabao Cup this week.
The game was forced to be postponed, however, after a huge downpour caused extensive flooding to Wimbledon’s Plough Lane home – even opening up a sinkhole on the pitch.
With the damage set to take a while to fix, the match was pushed back to October 1 and moved to Newcastle’s St James’ Park.
As is customary in the Carabao Cup, Wimbledon will receive 45 per cent of the gate revenue raised at St James’ Park next week.
And in a further boost to the club’s coffers, Newcastle have also made a generous donation.
In the wake of the damage caused to Plough Lane, a man named Graham Stacey set up a crowdfunding page to help cover the costs.
Pitching in to help out, Newcastle donated £15,000 to the cause.
The initial target was to raise £10,000, which was subsequently upped to £25k, £50k and now £100k.
Responding to Newcastle’s gesture, one fan wrote on social media: “Thank you very much @NUFC. Top club. Top fans.”
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While a second commented: “Very good of the club. Nice to see. Hopefully the pitch can be sorted asap for them.”
“Unreal gesture,” another added.
Wimbledon are scheduled to host Accrington Stanley on Saturday, although the match is in severe doubt due to the Wombles’ pitch woes.
They are then next due to be at home on October 12 against Carlisle.
In a statement posted by Wimbledon last night, they confirmed that in addition to the playing surface, damage has also been sustained in their reception areas, offices, club shop, museum and lifts.
While images have also circulated of the outdoor concourse area largely underwater.
Referencing the clash with Accrington, which as of yet has not been postponed, they added: “We are still trying to find a solution for this Saturday’s match, although there is no possibility that this can be at our stadium.
“We are also doing everything we can to ensure that the Blue & Yellow Club’s fundraising event on Thursday, as well as Geoff Northcott’s comedy fundraiser on Friday night, proceed as planned.
“We have overcome many setbacks by working together and this one will be no different.
“We genuinely appreciate all the messages of support and offers from volunteers and members to help us fix the damage.
“We ask for some patience whilst we complete our investigations and formulate our plans before getting to work. We will advise further what supporters can do to help us soon; thank you.”