Newcastle United donate £15,000 to fix AFC Wimbledon’s SINKHOLE flood damage, as crowdfunding reaches £50,000 after their Carabao Cup tie was called off and had to move venue

Newcastle United have donated £15,000 to League Two side AFC Wimbledon after their Carabao Cup tie was postponed due to significant flood damage at Plough Lane.

Following heavy rain on Sunday night, images emerged on Monday morning of a huge sinkhole on the Wimbledon pitch and it did not take long for the third round clash, which was due to take place tonight, to be called off.

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 crowdfunding page was subsequently set up by a man named Graham Stacey with the aim of raising £50,000 to fix the damage.

This target has now been reached, with Newcastle pledging £15,000 to the cause – almost a third of the total amount.

The flooding has left Plough Lane looking like a golf course, with no possibility of play at the ground for some time.

Newcastle and AFC Wimbledon held discussions over an alternative venue on Monday afternoon, and the match will now be played at St James’ Park on Tuesday, October 1.

The possibility of switching to St James’ this week was deemed too short a notice period for policing and ticketing, while an alternative venue in London was also ruled out for the same reasons.

The winners will move into the last 16 of the competition, with Newcastle looking to go one better than in the 2022-23 season when they reached the final before losing to Manchester United at Wembley.

But AFC Wimbledon have already caused a major upset this season, knocking out Premier League side Ipswich Town on penalties in the previous round.

Newcastle also needed penalties before edging past fellow top flight club Nottingham Forest in their last Carabao Cup outing.