A short time ago, in a Berliner Pilsener Pokal fixture not that terribly far away, every Berlin team’s eyes were fixed on Tennis Borussia Berlin. They were facing the might of Berliner AK, overwhelming favourites to win the cup again, the undisputed overlord of Berlin amateur football, the team that everyone wants to avoid. There were probably even folk in the maroon of Dynamo or the blue/red of Türkiyemspor, two teams that don’t have a great deal of time for TeBe, who were hoping for the Veilchen to spring a surprise: knocking out BAK would erase the sense of inevitability about their onward march and imbue the rest of the field with a new hope.
It didn’t used to be like this, though. Once upon a time, a long time ago, TeBe were the big boys, the team to beat, the malevolent force. We all know what happened then, though (and if you don’t, go download Issue 1 of No Dice and fill in the gaps). But their new status as relative minnows hasn’t affected the atmosphere in the Mommsenstadion, especially since Friday night’s torrential rain forced the Ultras from their usual position on the far terrace to underneath the roof on the main stand. The result was a thudding, fun atmosphere of cautious optimism – one that seemed as likely as any to produce the upset that the whole city was hoping for.
But alas, alas, it wasn’t to be. BAK were stronger right from the off, Kevin Kruschke and Metin Cakmak’s movement and mobility allowing the guests to carve out chances seemingly at will. It was a Cakmak cross from the left wing that Niklas Brandt met with a towering header with just over twenty minutes played. It thundered satisfyingly in off the underside of the crossbar, and the faint expectations of a remarkable upset were all but extinguished.
It was no surprise that TeBe’s main goal threat came from Benjamin Hendschke, but a very long-range swerver that Nico Hildebrandt in the BAK goal gathered comfortably was the best he could he could muster before the lead was extended. It was another cross from the left that did it, this time from Filip Krstic, and this time the head of Ali Avcioglu met it. While there was no doubt that BAK were the better footballing team, TeBe will be disappointed at the Route 1 nature of both of their first half goals: high balls into the box are something they have to deal with every week in the Berlin-Liga, and to allow a Regionalliga two such straightforward goals did not sit well with TeBe trainer Markus Schatte – “we made some naïve mistakes… we lost the ball, then it was a cross and a goal – that is too simple.”
Just when it seemed as though both teams would trudge to the dressing rooms with the game as good as decided, TeBe pulled one back. This reporter missed it, but eyewitness accounts indicate that Gino Krumnow’s thirty-metre blast into the top corner was quite a beauty – to what extend the magic of the cup caused hyperbolic elements to creep into those reports remains unclear.
The second half began with a high tempo, with Thokomeni Siewe barrelling around the pitch like a man possessed. The boy’s got skills, but lacks discipline. That said, watching his five-foot-nothing frame bowl over men that tower over him will never cease to be amusing. Despite the all-action start, TeBe never looked like getting their equaliser, and Kevin Kruschke put the game to bed and tucked it in nice and snug by tapping home the rebound from Henning Lichte’s free-kick. It had been a great save from Marcus Jurzik, but the TeBe defence was fast asleep in allowing Kruschke to have so much time and space.
The post-match press conference left no doubt as to where BAK boss Jens Härtel’s focus is. “It was a good test under floodlights for the game with 1860,” he said, referring to the forthcoming DFB Pokal encounter on October 30th, a game where BAK will switch from being the overwhelming favourites to the clear underdogs. Berlin will forget its BAK antipathy too, and hope, as always, for a shock.
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