Saturday, April 21, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. – Orlando City took its third consecutive victory to start the USL PRO season as the Lions handed the Richmond Kickers their second consecutive home defeat on Saturday evening at City Stadium with a 2-0 victory that was interrupted by a second-half lightning delay. Luke Boden and Anthony Pulis both scored for the Lions.
The Kickers came out confidently after their away victory against Charleston last weekend, but were unable to create any goal-scoring opportunities in the opening stages. Striker Jason Yeisley was substituted in the 13th minute after pulling up with a hamstring injury. His replacement, David Bulow, linked up well with fellow striker Matthew Delicâte in the first half but any chances the Kickers mustered were either off-target or saved by Orlando goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.
The match was delicately balanced as the teams left the field for halftime, with Richmond (1-2-0) edging the possession slightly. Bulow was replaced at the break by Edson Elcock, whose pace troubled the Orlando defense early in the second half, but the match was delayed in the 51st minute due to lightning. After a 42-minute delay, the match resumed and Orlando (3-0-0) mounted their first spell of sustained pressure on the Richmond goal.
The Lions made a crucial double substitution before a corner kick in the 60th minute, bringing in Ian Fuller and Dennis Chin for Matt Luzunaris and John Rooney. Fuller’s first touch was to play in the corner kick, which was headed in by Boden to give Orlando the 1-0 lead.
The Kickers nearly equalized in the 70th minute following a corner kick of their own, but Gallardo was on hand again to deny Yomby William’s goal-bound header. The Orlando keeper recorded seven saves on the evening to record his first shutout of the season. Any hope of a late Richmond comeback was dashed in the 89th minute when Dennis Chin raced through for a one-on-one with Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale. Chin poked the ball over the onrushing keeper, but his effort hit the post and trickled out of play. However, the referee had blown for a penalty against Pascale for making contact with Chin after the shot was taken, and Pulis stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.
Richmond will hope to maintain their unbeaten away record when they travel to Orlando for a rematch with the defending USL PRO champions next Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Florida Citrus Bowl. For more information, visit RichmondKickers.com.