These photos were shot with an Super-Multi-Coated TAKUMAR 135mm f2.5 manual focus lens from 1968.

Vintage SMC Takumar 135mm f2.5 from 1968

There’s certainly better technique required with manual focus sport. The ideal is to set oneself up parallel to the action so that the players remain in focus during a sequence. Most difficult is to shoot an onrushing player. There’s a lot less contrast in these older lenses. They are much better stopped down to f3.5 or f4 (which is how the photographers of the time shot them in daylight), which is what I did after a time.

UFC Pamhagen stalwart (256 games since 2012) Tamas Pirka takes a tumble at the hands of Aleksandar Stanojcic

Nagy zips down the left wing facing just Tamas Pirka before reaching Pamhagen goalkeeper Libor Hrdlicka

Tomas Bastian attempts to get to the ball over the Pamhagen defenders while keeper Libor Hrdlicka follows the action closely.

Neither of the Pamhagen defenders

Fabian Thüringer and Jakob Fischer can quickly clear as Juraj Fuska springs into action

A crowd of Pamhagen defenders cannot clear the ball which floats slowly towards the net.

One of SC Kittsee’s best chances with Juraj Fuska up at ball height but he narrowly loses the header duel against UFC Pamhagen lifer Christoph Koppi

Tamas Pirka scrambles to block Belko’s shot. Jakob Fischer is too late to stop Belko.

Frantisek Nagy is coming in on a long run as Hrdlicka carefully protects the ball

It was a tight game. Libor Hrdlicka did well to get his hand on this dangerous shot and push the ball over the net.

Machovec was unable to slip the bouncing ball past Hrdlicka

Kittsee kept up the pressure in the UFC Pamhagen goal area. Libor Hrdlicka earned his cap today.

Another nice chance that Pirka broke up effectively

Lots of UFC Pamhagen supporters made the fifty minute drive up to Kittsee, lots of cheering for both sides.

SC Kittsee captain Michael Wernecker was fortunate to escape with a warning here. Both sides were frustrated by their inability to score.

Before a free kick Karner looks on in the waning minutes of the game, perplexed at his side’s inability to mark a goal.

Congratulations to SK Pama on pulling the team back together after a difficult 2022-2023 season. Curiously it’s mostly the same players and same coaching staff. Whatever was wrong, SK Pama has fixed.

Ruppitsch was tested early and often by the Kittsee attack.

Aleksandar Stanojcic is a giant in the box, Here he faces off against UFC Pama stalware Christian Hafner

Pototschnig just pulled down and tripped Nagy

Marcel Szikonya can’t get there in time for another UFC Pama goal

Incredible air on this header away. Szikonya is a meter off the ground

Belko has made some nice plays. If he continues to improve his shot at distance, he could become very dangerous.

The ball always seemed to come Ruppitsch way

Coach Weiß’s first season at the helm is going well. Weiß keeps cool but engaged despite the heavy sailing at UFC Pama.

This looks like an unremarkable shot but is in fact a goal at distance. Sometimes one has to shoot to score, which is what Machovec did here without waiting for an elaborate play to develop.

Machovec has a big leg and when he’s on net, there’s not too many keepers who will be able to stop his boomers.

With the late 43′ goal looked briefly like SC Kittsee would rise from the ashes of a lost half and make a game of it. Unfortunately Juraj Czibula scored for UFC Pama less than a minute later.

UFC Pama was not going to give much air to Machovec in the second half. Once again Jaroslav Machovec attempted to will SC Kittsee to victory.

Curiously Fuska did not do much damage in UFC Pama. Perhaps he doesn’t like the heat. It was a very hot day.

Nagy looks good on this run, but experienced defender Christian Hafner does manage to kick the ball away.

Jaroslav Machovec headed the ball here as thousands of tiny droplets from his exertions in the afternoon heat fill the air with rainbow coloured drops. Machovec continue to be a one-man wrecking crew for SC Kittsee.

SC Kittsee didn’t seem to be moving at full speed in the heat.

UFC Pama reserve player and part-time trainer Michael Hafner takes a yellow card. Hafner is elder brother to star defender Christian.

UFC Pama trainer Zoltan Fekete and Hafner seem very concerned with something downfield to my left. Referee Dursun Tosun is only concerned with noting Hafner’s penalty.

With Ruppitsch in chase, Machovec has a final chance to make a game of it but cannot get a shot past keeper Stefan Weinzettl.

UFC Pama has enough players back to comfortably hold of the SC Kittsee last minute press.

Sometimes victory just seems too easy. This day was such a day. SC Kittsee had won the last three derbys, let UFC Pama celebrate today.

Even some SC Kittsee supporters were congratulating Hafner on UFC Pama’s strong game. Gracious in defeat.

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.

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.

Wolfgang Leyrer lends Bence Orszagh a shoiulder. It’s always tragic when a player suffers serious injury. When tempers flare, sadly injuries are often the result. II Liga Nord games should always remain neighbourly. There’s no highly paid injured reserve for any of us. We all have our main jobs to which to return.

The substantial crowd for the last home game at 17h on Saturday faced an unpleasant early surprise when Thomas Wickl scored after two minutes. The rest of the first half was fairly evenly matched with Mustafa Atik equalising at the end of the half. In the second half, SC Kittsee enjoyed breakaway after breakaway and notched two more goals. A decisive win over a worthy opponent, which bodes well for the spring season.

The game was very exciting and I have a lot of photos. Here’s the first seventeen including mostly the goals.

At two minutes, Thomas Wickl scored for FC Illimitz making the home crowd nervous after the ASV Deutsch Jahrndorf game where another top ranked team dominated SC Kittsee.

Fuska’s goal here is to keep Gartner from getting to the ball and win a corner after too hard a backwards pass. Illmitz held the Kittsee players quite often. Seemed a strategy with them.

SC Kittsee coach Manfred Wachter was unusually intense at the Illimitz game.

Adam Bombicz delivers assist to Patrick Pail goal. Right after this pass, Patrick Pail knocks the ball straight into the net at a high angle.

FC Illmitz keeper Patrick Kamper gets a hand on this one, under siege from both Michael Wernecker and Jozef Szombat

Mustafa Atik scores for FC Kittsee. Keeper Patrick Kemper is left well out of position and on the ground this time.

SC Kittsee keeper Manuel Schiszler has been driven into the back of the net by a previous save. Fortunately Patrick Pail is there to head away an attempt by Thomas Zwickl to notch a second goal for Illmitz.

Adam Bombicz created a number of dangerous attempts on the FC Illmitz net. Thomas Zinkl and Patrick Kamper foil this one.

Michael Wernecker attempts to push a loose ball into the net. Thomas Sazl holds Wernecker while keeper Kemper tries to block the ball. The second half of the game turned into a bit of a nightmare for Kemper with SC Kittsee forwards in front of him in one on one or two on one situations again and again.

Jozef Szombat knocks in his first goal. This goal put SC Kittsee ahead 2:1. Szombat enjoyed a one on one chance which visibly angered keeper Kemper. Defender Filip Kutaj doesn’t seem to be in a rush to hinder Szombat.

Congratulations to Szombat for the go-ahead goal. A moment of real joy and camaraderie for SC Kittsee. Adam Bombicz, Mustafa Atik, Rafael Artner, Jozef Szombat, Michael Wernecker, Tomas Bastian, Christoph Drobola.

Jozef Szombat enjoyed another clear breakaway. Thomas Sazl preferred to stop Szombat with a two-hand hold than face the anger of keeper Kemper.

Referee Manuel Gregorits rewards Thomas Sazl with a well-deserved red card for this two-handed hold. Is it better to be down 3-1 with 10 minutes left in the game or to be down 2-1 with ten players? At the 80 minute mark the goal is worth more than the red card but even if Szombat is left alone one on one with the keeper, there’s a good chance the keeper will be able to stop his shot. The red card is a sure thing. Interesting tactical decision.

Sebastian Skerlan is a very good player and a fierce defender but an inveterate troublemaker with a yellow card or red card almost every match. It was an astonishing and amusing moment to see him carry the captaincy for SC Kittsee. If Sergei Ramos can be captain at FC Real Madrid and for Spain, why not Skerlan?

Jozef Sombat notches his second goal, as Michael Zwickl arrives too late. Keeper Patrick Kemper doesn’t stand a chance. The score is 3:1 and we are already in extra time. SC Kittsee fans breathe a sigh of relief. The game is ours.

Patrick Kemper watches Szombat’s second goal float over his head helplessly.

Happy teammates Adam Bombicz, Jozef Sombat, Juraj Fuska celebrate a well-deserved win. Each enjoyed an excellent night.

From their arrival though FC Winden am See seemed to want to the win more than SC Kittsee. Our talented players like Pavol Bellas and Jaroslav Machovec had more chances in the first half than FC Winden. Bad luck struck in injury time with a first goal from FC Winden.

At the break, FC Winden coach Zoltan Fekete gave his team no time to relax in the dressing room but brought them out to the back corner of the field (photo) and delivered a tough speech about not giving up the win now that they had Kittsee down a goal.

And so it was. After a good first half, SC Kittsee was rarely able to bring any sustained pressure on Winden keeper Roman Ostojic. With not too much to divide the teams in terms of play and talent, FC Winden just seemed to want the game more.

FC Winden marked another goal before Kittsee striker Pavol Bellas finally won the penalty he’d been seeking since the start of the match. Bellas knocked home convincingly but a third FC Winden goal knocked the wind out of Kittsee sails definitively. SC Kittsee is missing fiery hometown defenders Patrick Dietmann and Sebastian Skerlan, both for their play on defence and for their good long balls down the wing.

Tthe question of how SC Kittsee would fare in Burgenlandliga has been the subject of lively debate. SC Kittsee has been a good team with for the last few years and has many very talented players. The previous SC Kittsee team president Walter Rinaldo was persusaded that with our current players and perhaps one or two additions, SC Kittsee could compete well in Burgenlandliga. There’s been much talk among the football cognoscenti in Kittsee if Herr Rinaldo was right or not.

The visit of ASV Siegendorf for a real game, not an exhibition, chasing the Austrian Cup (it’s a round-robin tournament where the clubs who keep winning advance further) settled the question once and for all. The final tally was 6-0 against SC Kittsee and it could have been much higher. Kittsee keeper Peter Barinec played made many, many saves and kept his composure until the end. Most of the evening ASV Siegendorf stars ran circles around last year’s II Liga Nord standings leader.

The consequences of moving up to Burgenlandliga were clear. The team would have to be rebuilt almost from scratch, with most of the survivors from the existing team relegated to the bench. About three or four of our current players could crack the starting lineup of ASV Siegendorf.

It doesn’t matter. General consensus is that Pamhagen and Andau and Tadten and Apetlon are quite far enough and that we don’t want to drive 1.5 hours to away games. We also like our current players and like playing against our neighbours in Pama, Gattendorf and Deutsch Jahrndorf.

On to the photos from the challenging match against ASV Siegendorf. There will be no Kittsee goals, with most of the action was in our own end.

The party must go on. Post-game festivities were cheerful but subdued, except for Martin’s birthday celebration with friends.