Sinkhole causes MPNFL match to be abandoned

Footballers at a Karingal ground were forced to abandon play on the weekend when a large patch of the field turned into an unplayable sinkhole, with a coach reporting the surface was so waterlogged “the grass was bubbling.” SEE VIDEO

A sinkhole caused the abandonment of a Mornington Peninsula league match between Karingal and Pearcedale at Ballam Park on Saturday.

Concerns were raised by a player in the reserves game who said “something’s not quite right out there’’, referring to an area of the ground on the half forward flank near the old scoreboard.

And when an umpire ran through the area and “pretty much sunk’’, he stopped play.

The sinkhole started as a metre-wide puddle, but got a whole lot worse.

Umpires, club officials and league officials abandoned the senior game around 2pm.

“It was getting worse and worse,’’ Karingal coach Brendan Dunne said.

“It was pretty weird. You couldn’t have played on it, no way.

“We got a shovel and broke the grass and the water was coming out like a fire hydrant from underneath the ground.’’

Karingal coach Brendan Dunne: “You couldn’t have played on it, no way’’. Picture: Chris Eastman

Pearcedale coach Boris Hamilton said it was one of the most unusual things he’s seen in football.

“I think both teams wanted to play but you couldn’t have played there,’’ he said.

“The hole was actually getting bigger and bigger. It started off probably a metre by a metre. By the time it was finished with the water coming out of it there was probably a 10 metre by 10 metre soft patch and if you stepped on the grass the whole area was sort of like a wave.’’

Dunne said he tested the area and nearly sank.

“I went to put my foot near the edge of it and before I put my body weight into it my foot was down to my ankle,’’ he said.

“The grass was bubbling and it was getting worse and worse. You’d stand on one side and the other side would come up. There’s something going on with the water underneath it.’’

The points were split, with both sides getting two. Karingal finished in second spot and will meet Langwarrin in the qualifying final at Somerville on Saturday.