It must be a daunting task for whoever the man in the middle is to officiate a match as notoriously hot-headed as Southampton vs Portsmouth can get.
The two sworn South Coast foes will leave everything on the pitch on Sunday, with last season's two bristly Championship meetings resulting in nine yellow cards being brandished.
Flynn Downes, funnily enough, picked up two of those bookings, with the one-time West Ham United midfielder well-known for being a combative and tenacious body centrally.
A Premier League official has been given the nod to oversee the latest instalment of the South Coast Derby at St. Mary's, with the hope on the referee's end that he doesn't fall victim to a contentious call.
The referee trusted with taking charge of Sunday's match
Lewis Smith oversaw the last matchup between the two sides at Fratton Park, as Leo Scienza's goal wasn't enough for the Saints to win on their short travels over to enemy quarters.
He has predominantly been a referee in the Championship for most of his career, but the man in the middle for Sunday's clash has refereed in the Premier League this season, all while only being 33 years of age.
Adam Herczeg was handed the responsibility of being the main official for Leeds United vs Crystal Palace in September, which was quite a low-key affair, in comparison to the luntchime affair about to unfold, as a 0-0 final scoreline was played out.
He was still card-heavy, however, with four yellow cards shown across the duration of the 90 minutes.
Across his career as an official to date, he has refereed Pompey four times, with only one win falling into the lap of Mousinho and Co. at full time.
Herczeg's record refereeing Pompey:
Match | Competition | Final result | Total bookings |
|---|---|---|---|
Pompey vs West Ham | EFL Cup | 3-1 West Ham W | 3 |
Pompey vs Preston | Championship | 1-0 Preston W | 4 |
Pompey vs Burton | League One | 2-1 Pompey W | 5 |
Pompey vs Morecambe | League One | 1-1 draw | 6 |
This came about in 2024, when Portsmouth were still in League One, as they got the better of Burton Albion 2-1.
In terms of Championship action, Pompey have never won a second-tier game Herczeg has overseen, which is a record that will unnerve the visitors slightly, travelling to the fortress of St. Mary's.
To make matters even worse for Mousinho's team, on the flip side, Eckert's men have amazingly never lost an encounter Herczeg has refereed...
Saints enjoy Herczeg refereeing
The last time the 33-year-old was in the man in the middle at St. Mary's, Eckert and Co. resoundingly put Millwall to the sword 5-1.
Imagine if another goal-filled win like this triumphant Lions success played out on Sunday, with the Saints also being awarded a penalty by Herczeg to wrap up the straightforward victory back in August.
Southampton, last season, managed to avoid defeat to Coventry City, who were the runaway league leaders, when Herczeg was present, with Josh DeSilva even being handed a red card in the Saints' favour during the competitive 1-1 draw.
The other match was Southampton's slender 2-1 win at Sheffield United that same campaign, and the young official helped out the South Coast visitors at Bramall Lane, by awarding them a spot-kick.
Of course, not much can really be looked into this, as the well-travelled official has overseen so many games during his officiating career.
To be exact, he has been at the centre of 34 Championship games, alongside that one-off moment in the Premier League spotlight.
It will ultimately be down to the players on the pitch to show off their class in what will be a prickly game, with the away side boasting the likes of Adrian Segecic from the middle of the park, who bagged 11 Championship strikes last season.
Eckert has also revealed that Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz should be fit for this clash, despite picking up little niggles during the break, so the expectation will be that their star quality shines through in a big win, irrespective of who holds the power of sounding the whistle.
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