Here we go again, we're back in Germany but this time a little further south as we head for Munich. Leaving our normal base in the north west of the country hadn't been a decision taken lightly but with no fewer than five matches to pick from in the region we decided that Bavaria may just be for us. Flying out from London Stansted after conquering the most annoying road known to man (A14) we made it into Munich around midday, no sooner were we off the train at the beautiful Marienplatz we'd taken advantage of a traditional beer garden plonked in the centre of the Viktualienmarkt for a cheeky pint and a currywurst under the clear blue skies, perfect.
Still we couldn't sit around boozing all day so we upped sticks and checked into our rather plush hotel which had kindly taken delivery of our match tickets for the weekend, Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich, we salute you! After setting the bag's down and checking the location of our first match of the tour we headed towards the suburb of Unterhaching.
Set in the picturesque Fasanenpark (translated as 'Pheasant Park') the ground is a mere hop and a skip from the S-bahn station of the same name. Spvgg Unterhaching are undoubtedly the minnows of Munich who have spent the majority of their time outside of the Bundesliga. However they did manage to break that trend in 1999 as they achieved promotion to the top flight only to be relegated the following season.
Relegation the previous season made this a 3 Liga tie against Babelsberg who brought a tidy following from the east on a freezing cold evening. First impressions of the stadium were positive, large imposing floodlights mark the ground out easily on a dark evening and the two seated stands east and west straddle the touchlines with terracing at both ends with a pavillion like structure behind the home end terrace,not to mention the beer garden, adding character to the ground with excellent views to be had all round.
A crowd of just under 3,000 crammed in for this one with Unterhaching winning my award for 'most welcoming club' with friendly smiles and jokes in both english and german, not to mention some quality grub and drink on offer. Seated in the Oostribune the game got underway and within the first four minutes the referee had the cards out for a fairly innoxuous foul on an Unterhaching player, unfortunately this was a sign of things to come.
Early pressure from the home side brought little and mid-way through the half Babelsberg broke down the right forcing Maximillian Drum to put a quite brutal tackle onto the ankle of the Babelsberg forward, definite red and 'hatching were down to 10 men. Thing's didn't get much better for the home side with a corner half-cleared by the 'hatching back line which was fired back in by Reich and deflected in to give Babelsberg the lead. Unterhaching were incensed by this as the deflection was from a player in an offside position, not the officials finest hour.
Half time arrived and so did a police escort for the referee and his assistants with the home side still seething about the goal. Little improved in the second half with captain Jonas Hummels, brother of Dortmund and Germany's Mats, unable to rouse his troops to salvage anything. Suddenly the home side were back in with a shout as Babelsberg defender Toure decided to clatter winger Salas and earn himself an early bath, Unterhaching pressed hard but couldn't find a way through and just to complete a night of crazy officiating Stephane Tee was shown a second yellow and a red for back-chat.
The final whistle finally blew as the referee no doubt was in a hurry to get back to his car in one piece flanked by the local constabulary, a bizzare evening but certainly worth going to, it had been our first experience of 3.Liga football and certainly a memorable one.
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