RateTheRef

Alighting at the Onkel Toms Hütte U-Bahn station, the search for Harriet Beecher's toe proved fruitless, VAR having ruled it offside. On finding, not without difficulty, the right entrance to the complex, it was a surprise to receive an iced biscuit with the club's name. Though not quite in the same league as Emley's mince pie and sherry, it was a nice gesture nonetheless.

Saturday 14th December 2019
Oberliga Nord-Ost Nord
FC Hertha 03 Zehlendorf   1   v   2   MSV Pampow
Johnny Schiefer (Annaberg-Buchholz); Max Bringmann, Ronny Walter.

This match saw fourth entertaining sixth, so an even contest was expected. Zehlendorf fired a great chance wide on 8 minutes, but despite some good approach play, there were few clear scoring opportunities.  Herr Schiefer was not proving typical of German referees at this level, by being willing to allow tackles and commendably deaf to yelps of agony. A challenge by the Zehlendorf number 9 to the back of an opponent's leg might well have merited a yellow card, but Herr Schiefer settled for just the free-kick. On 36 minutes a strong blast on the whistle preceded an instant red card for the Pampow number 23, for an offence after the ball had gone. Those of us under cover had followed the ball and missed the offence, so credit to Herr Schiefer for his trailing eye. The dismissed player had a long walk round to the opposite corner, allowing time for an intervention from the visiting bosses, with one talking his way into a yellow card. On 40 minutes there was nearly a looped own-goal from a Zehlendorf defender, but a colleague managed to scoop it away just in time. Pampow were not to be denied, though, and took the lead before the break. One would have expected the assistants to race to their colleague's side at the half-time whistle, but they were disappointingly leisurely in their reaction. Herr Walter did get there before the Pampow boss could start his extended protests, while Herr Bringmann eventually shooed away a Pampow player. The diatribe stopped as the officials left the field and there appeared to be a Pampow council meeting in the corner, with a track-suited individual (the dismissed player?) making a gesture that could have been interpreted as an elbow.


Zehlendorf applied plenty of pressure after the restart. An attacker went down in a coming together in the Pampow penalty area, but there were no protests when Herr Schiefer waved play on. For all their pressure Zehlendorf could not land the necessary blow and on 63 minutes a rapid Pampow break was halted by an unwise challenge by the Zehlendorf number 4  - yellow card, penalty and 0-2.There could have been a third, a poor clearance leaving a Pampow attacker free, but the keeper redeemed himself with a block. On 68 minutes Zehlendorf finally made their pressure tell, the goal being greeted with a burst of music from the tannoy, something that had not happened at the earlier scores. Within two minutes a pointless barge after the ball had gone gave Zehlendorf the chance to equalise from the spot, but the kick was blasted wide. A further great chance was then skied way over the bar. The Zehlendorf keeper made another crucial block with his feet,while the Pampow keeper made a couple of very comfortable takes. Zehlendorf picked up two yellows in quick succession in the 89th minute and even when their keeper came up for a corner, Zehlendorf could not find an equaliser.

The officials were well received at the end and deservedly so. It had been a slightly odd game, with many instances of handshakes and apologies between players. At 21, though his swarthy complexion and beard make him appear older, Herr Schiefer is considered a good prospect, at least in his home area (admittedly not a hotbed of German refereeing.)  Overall he put in an impressive, confident display and was not frightened to make strong decisions. What particularly impressed was his awareness of potential flashpoints and ability to step in to defuse matters in an unobtrusive way. In England his prospects would be very good: whether his admirable departure from the more usual German robotic style will hold him back remains to be seen. It is to be hoped not.

And the 13.00 kick-off time allowed the journey back to be made in daylight,  though the highlight was the super Heidelberger Platz underground station.