KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Malaysia Stadium Coporation (MSC) chief executive officer Azman Fahmi Osman brushed aside criticism of the National Stadium’s pitch quality and labelled it the best in recent years.

“They are not used to cow grass,” Azman retorted.

Visiting journalists and foreign newspapers described the field as “awful” but Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson had no qualms with the conditions after the team’s training session at the venue on Thursday.

“The field is in even better condition than when the stadium hosted the FA Cup final between LionsXII and Kelantan in May,” said Azman.

“I dare say it is among the best in the country now. It has improved since we started with the cow grass this year.”

The Bukit Jalil pitch underwent a complete overhaul for a year since October 2013 but its quality failed to impress anyone.

The Bermuda grass laid was a waste of time and money as exposed during the Malaysia Cup final in November and the Asean Football Federation Cup final second leg between Malaysia and Thailand in December.

The pitch was stripped again in February as MSC opted for cow grass, which has worked well at the Larkin Stadium and Darul Makmur Stadium. — Vijhay Vick