The Beast from the East hit Oriel Park hard

Heavy snow

Ben Kiely

Oriel Park had to battle against the Beast from the East for Dundalk vs Limerick FC.

While the snow was descending on Oriel Park, players, fans and media were getting ready for the SSE Airtricity clash between the hosts and Limerick.

The adverse weather conditions are set to continue until the weekend, leaving pitches up and down the country covered in a blanket of snow. However, the show must go on and the good people in Dundalk’s stadium did their part to ensure that Tuesday night’s game went ahead as planned.

Prior to kick-off, players had to warm up in freezing conditions. It’s a real wonder that Brian Gartland could even see the ball as he loosened up on the field.

Gartland, as well as other players, soldiered on, braving the icy conditions.

And boy that frozen hell was stubborn. For a while there, it felt like it was never going to cease.

Eventually, it did stop. Although it certainly left its mark on the pitch.

White footprints could be seen from the players after they finished their (attempted) warm-ups. We honestly doubt they could have got too warm out there.

While Lilywhite Stephen O’Donnell was brave enough to don the shorts, keeper Gary Rogers was understandably having none of it.

The Dundalk shot-stopper made sure he was well wrapped up during the pre-match drills.

The ride-on was required to do some last-minute clearing in order to make sure the surface was as playable as possible.

Outside the ground, volunteers did their part to make sure fans attending the game could do so safely.

Fantastic to see volunteers help out at Oriel Park to make sure all supporters can enjoy the game safely

This is what the #GreatestLeagueInTheWorld is all about! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/nWpSskwvLU

— League of Ireland (@LeagueofIreland) February 27, 2018