It was a hard fought match. SC Kittsee enjoyed a goal off the opening kick off from Captain Michael Wernecker (1′) but despite a dozen decent chances was unable to knock in a second goal until the end of regular time. UFC Pamhagen looked very dangerous at the end of the second half. SC Kittsee was fortunate not to end with a late game tie.
This is an excellent Austrian tradition. The U8 or another young team joins the main team for their entrance to the field, once per season. It’s to encourage them to continue to play.
The exit is more exciting than the entrance when the energetic young players run off the field.
SC Kittsee could not get off to a better start. A neat couple of passes from the kickoff put Michael Wernecker in front of the UFC Pamhagen net where he promptly scored.
This time UFC Pamhagen keeper Libor Hrdlicka managed to trap the ball to prevent Kittsee from running away with the game early.
Johann Thüringer patrols the UFC Pamhagen sideline. In the blue shirt, linesman Harald Mahr. Under the SC Kittsee sign, trainer Manfred Wachter stands.
Felix Kandelsdorfer • EXIF 135mm 1/2500s f/2 ISO 3200
Juraj Fuska was in peak form for today’s match.
Neither back Stefan Andert nor keeper Libor Hrdlicka were able to stop Banovic’s booming shot.
Banovic’s hard shot slammed off the left post like a canon shot.
Juraj Fuska managed to leap over David Fleischhacker’s first late tackle. Fleischacker took better aim the second time. This is not good football.
It was nice to have guests at the game.
Mustafa Atik managed to isolate keeper Libor Hrdlicka a couple of times but was unable to push the ball past him.
Dietmann has a couple of good runs.
Alexander Andert is unable to stop Patrick Dietmann
Libor Hrdlicka had a rough afternoon with continuous action in front of his net from the opening whistle and goal. He did well to keep UFC Pamhagen in the game right until the end of regular time, giving up just a single goal.
More nasty tackling. Cards are coming.
Referee Erdem Sahin managed to keep the game going without attracting too much attention to his calls. What was a stroppy game did not descend into fisticuffs largely due to his calming influence. Still Sahin probably let too many late tackles pass in the early going, giving Pamhagen the impression they could keep tackling rough without consequence.
No one in II Liga Nord will outleap Sombat in full flight. Tamas Pirka and Christoph Koppi futilely try to slow Sombat down.
Bombicz joined the action late but made the most of his time with aggressive runs and long passes.
The last twelve minutes of regular time were extremely tense for Kittsee. SC Kittsee enjoyed the flow of play for the first half and the first part of the second half, but were unable to mark a second goal. When the ball spent ten minutes almost uninterrupted around the Kittsee net, it looked like Kittsee might be doomed to a late draw.
This is not how one wants to play out the last quarter of an hour a 1:0 game. High risk, low reward.
UFC Pamhagen were visibly frustrated in the second half and were willing to do anything, legal or illegal to attempt to even the score. Lots of risks were taken. Many brave Kittsee fans came out to face the rain (albeit from under the stands).
Here field captain Patrick Dietmann raises his hands in outrage, real or imagined. Three similar players from Pamhagen received yellow cards for hard tackling. Brothers Alexander Andert and Stefan Andert, and of course David Fleischhacker. Kittsee had no shortage of yellow cards, but mostly for complaining (Captain Michael Wernecker, alternate captain Tomas Bastian).
Desperate hard play was going to end badly for UFC Pamhagen sooner or later. Erdem Sahin had enough of watching Pamhagen knock Soltani to the ground three plays in a row. Another yellow.
Alexander Andert had forgotten about the yellow card he’d earned early in the game. There were three UFC Pamhagen who deserved red: Alexander Andert, David Fleischhacker and Stefan Andert. Alexander Andert’s number came up.
Alexander Andert ripped off his shirt and cursed the crowd, the Kittsee players and the referee Erdem Sahin in a shocking display of poor sportsmanship. The scene was genuinely very exciting. The temperature does not often run so high, particularly in cold spring rain.
Right after Alexander Andert’s sending off, Jozef Sombat slipped behind the Pamhagen defenders and had a chance to move past keeper Libor Hrdlicka but missed his shot.
Sombat’s clinching goal at 90 minutes, with Pamhagen keeper Libor Hrdlicka way out of position. Jozef Sombat was not going to miss on his second chance. David Fleischhacker cannot catch Sombat.
Tobias Wisak, Jaroslav Machovec, Tomas Banovic rush to congratulate Sombat. The pressure is finally off, as a 2:0 lead at the end of regular time is relatively secure.
Jaroslav Machovec is stoked. SC Kittsee is on its way to third place in the league despite a slow start to the season.
I’ve rarely seen a post-game handshake as tense as this one. Pamhagen mostly did not want to shake our hands. Field captain Patrick Dietmann exchanges harsh words with Manuel Schopf.
With both Tomas Bastian and Michael Wernecker substituted out, Dietmann wore the captain’s yellow armband. Bastian explains that the captain’s role is to prevent a brawl breaking out, not to instigate one. Manuel Schopf and Stefan Andert glare as they leave the field. Mustafa Atik and Jaroslav Machovec clap the fans in the background. The joy of winning and the despair of defeat.
An earlier double yellow might have cooled temperatures earlier. It would have been easy to call but ten men would have been the end of the game for UFC Pamhagen. Should Sahin have made the difficult call? We’ll never know. No matter what decision a referee makes, he will always face criticism. The hardest and most unloved job in the world.
