Tuesday, July 23, 2013
VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Richmond Kickers concluded their three-game west coast swing in style with a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Reserves on Tuesday night at UBC Thunderbird Stadium. Franchise all-time leading scorer Matthew Delicâte and defender Conor Shanosky scored on either side of the half to give the road-weary Kickers the lead for the majority of the match before Whitecaps forward Kekuta Manneh pulled a goal back in stoppage time.
Through the groundbreaking affiliation between USL PRO and MLS, the inter-league match-up counts towards the official USL PRO standings, boosting the Kickers to the top of the table while extending their record-breaking unbeaten streak to 20 regular-season games and 22 games overall.
Determined to be the first team in North America to break the Kickers’ undefeated streak, the Whitecaps pressed forward out of the gates and Manneh drew a free kick deep in Kickers territory inside the first five minutes. On the ensuing free kick, Daigo Kobayashi tested the Kickers goalkeeper from 30-yards out but Andrew Dykstra denied his effort to keep the match scoreless.
Four minutes later, the Whitecaps had their first real opportunity of the match stemming from open play when a confident Erik Hurtado dribbled his way past a handful of Richmond defenders before firing a shot, but Dykstra came up big again to make the block.
Despite the early offensive pressure, it was the Kickers who broke the ice when a nice build-up through the midfield between Luke Vercollone and Philippe Davies found Sascha Görres on the left flank in the 15th minute. The Kickers’ veteran defender served a cross into the box, connecting with Delicâte sandwiched between two defenders and the Kickers all-time leading scorer made no mistake with his flick-on header to the near post.
Looking for the equalizer in the 32nd minute, Aminu Abdallah lobbed a through ball into the path of Kobayashi. The Japanese midfielder’s shot beat Dykstra but was deflected then cleared off the line by a pair of Kickers defenders.
Frustrated by the Kickers’ staunch defense to close out the first half, the Whitecaps peppered their visitors with shots just past the hour mark. First, Hurtado beat several defenders off the dribble before firing a shot that was saved by Dykstra. Then, Greg Klazura also saw his shot parried by Dykstra. In the last of the string of chances, Manneh carried the ball from midfield into Richmond’s box, before laying it off to forward Corey Hertzog, but his resulting effort glanced just wide.
Minutes later, and just seconds after entering the match as a second half substitute, midfielder Nate Robinson served in a free kick from the left edge of the box. Shanosky leapt to redirect his nod just inside the far post to double the lead in the 63rd minute.
Holding the MLS Reserves into stoppage time, the Kickers conceded a last-gasp goal when a giveaway in the midfield allowed Kobayashi to intercept the ball and feed it through to Manneh 30 yards out. The swift forward eluded defenders and cut inside to take on Dykstra 1v1 before slotting his low driven shot into the left corner. However, it was a case of too little, too late for the Whitecaps, as the Kickers held on to steal the full three points.
After a month on the road, the Kickers return to City Stadium to host VSI Tampa Bay FC this Sunday, July 28. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. and tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.