# The Effect of Pitch Surface on Match Running Performance in Women's Soccer
## 4 Discussion  
This study aimed to identify differences in MRP on AT and NG among female football players. Results indicated greater match volume on AT compared to NG for players in specific playing positions, while match intensity was similar for players on all playing positions, irrespective of playing on AT or NG. Therefore, the hypothesis that MRP will be significantly greater for players across all playing positions on AT than on NG was partially accepted. The match volume in soccer is typically analyzed by quantification of TD [34]. Analysis of TD on AT and NG may therefore indicate a difference in match volume when playing on different surfaces. Results of such analysis from the current study showed that TD was significantly higher on AT than on NG among the CDs and CMs (both large ES), indicating increased match volume for these players on AT. Contrary to this, TD was similar on AT and NG among FBs and OFs, showing their equal match volume, irrespective of the pitch surface. This finding could be attributed to how each position adapts to the mechanics of the soccer ball, which may vary between different pitch surfaces [13]. Specifically, a soccer ball travels faster and with more bounces on AT compared to NG [24]. This is crucial when taking into account the distinct technical-tactical responsibilities associated with each playing position. For instance, CDs and CMs typically execute a greater number of passes during the match compared to players in all other playing positions [35]. Such greater activity with the ball of CDs and CMs, due to the elevated activity of the soccer ball on AT, possibly resulted in their increased overall activity on the pitch (i.e., TD). Given that TD is recognized as an indicator of the overall physical demands during soccer competitions [8; 36; 37], it is important to note that our findings suggest that playing on AT may impose a higher degree of physical demand on CDs and CMs compared to FBs and OFs. Such considerations are generally in line with previous studies which investigated male players. Specifically, [PERSON] et al. analyzed the MRP of elite male soccer players on different pitch surfaces, and revealed that TD was significantly higher on AT than on NG among the CDs, CMs, and FBs [13]. In the current study, although no significant differences in TD between pitch surfaces were found for FBs, descriptive parameters show \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**CM**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**OF**} \\ \hline Fixed effect & Coef (SE) & 95\% CI & t (df) & Coef (SE) & 95\% CI & t (df) \\ \hline Intercept & 48.82 (4.38) & 36.45–61.19 & 11.14 (3.84) & 52.51 (2.9) & 45.26–59.75 & 18.08 (5.55) \\ Pitch: AT & \(-\)0.65 (3.03) & \(-\)6.8–5.5 & \(-\)0.21 (36.49) & \(-\)0.72 (3.15) & \(-\)7.03–5.59 & \(-\)0.23 (57.27) \\ \hline Random effect & Coef (SE) & z (\(p\)) & Coef (SE) & z (\(p\)) \\ \hline Residuals & 91 (22) & 4.24 (\(<\)0.01) & 150 (28) & 5.31 (\(<\)0.01) \\ Player & 56 (55) & 1.02 (0.31) & 11 (20) & 0.54 (0.59) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Coef—coefficient, SE—standard error, CI—confidence interval, AT—artificial turf, CD—central defensive players, FB—wide defensive players, CM—midfield players, OF—offensive players.  
\end{table} 
Table 5: _Cont._their slightly greater values of TD when played on AT compared to NG (10,307 vs. 10,088 m, respectively). Therefore, it seems that increased match volume for defensive and midfielder players when playing on AT can be expected for both male and female players. Further analysis focusing on high-intensity activities, which are typically used to assess match intensity [38], revealed that female players in all playing positions performed similar HIR both on AT and NG. Taking into account previous considerations on the mechanics of the soccer ball (i.e., travels faster and with more bounces on AT compared to NG), increased HIR would be expected for those players who experienced greater TD on AT than on NG (i.e., CDs and CMs).