Richmond Kickers News Release -- www.richmondkickers.com
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. – A hat trick by David Bulow propelled the Richmond Kickers to a 4-1 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions in the First Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening.
Richmond Coach Leigh Cowlishaw opted to rest strikers Matthew Delicâte and Edson Elcock for the match, but his starting strike force of David Bulow and Shaka Bangura were effective early on. Bulow notched his first goal of the evening in the seventh minute when he raced past the Dayton defense and placed his shot low into the corner beyond Lions goalkeeper Brian Visser.
The Kickers’ pace again proved too much for Dayton in the 17th minute, when Stanley Nyazamba hared down the left wing and played a square pass to Bangura in the penalty area, who had time to look up and find Bulow at the top of the box. The striker took a touch and sent an unstoppable drive past Visser and into the upper corner to double Richmond’s lead.
Dayton nearly pulled a goal back just before the half, but Kickers shot stopper Ronnie Pascale made an acrobatic diving save to deny George Davis IV from his long-range effort and maintain Richmond’s two-goal lead going into the break.
The Dutch Lions introduced attacking substitutes Marvin van der Pluijm and Julius Willie for the second half, and the pair injected some life into the Dayton side. In the 60th minute, Willie carried the ball into the box and beyond Pascale, whose diving attempt at the ball instead caught the Dayton player and resulted in a penalty kick. Van der Pluijm stepped up and finished under Pascale to give Dayton a lifeline back into the game.
The opportunity was short-lived, however, when in the 65th minute Bulow was taken down inside the Dayton box and another penalty was given, this time for the Kickers. Bulow completed his hat trick with a low finish into the side-netting. The goal was Bulow’s 11th in U.S. Open Cup play, bringing him level with Philadelphia Union’s Sebastian LeToux for third place all-time on the scoring chart in the modern era.
Dayton continued to press for another goal throughout the second half, but as a result were left exposed to the counterattack. Bangura capitalized on a through ball by substitute Ross MacKenzie in the 89th minute, curling his effort from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner to give Richmond their fourth goal of the evening. Davis forced Pascale into a few key saves in the final stages, but the Dutch Lions were unable to add to their tally.
“We wanted to try and maximize the strength of the squad tonight and get the win,” Cowlishaw said. “We’re looking ahead to Friday night and to Tuesday for the second round.”
The Kickers will return to Open Cup action at City Stadium next Tuesday, June 21 at 7 p.m., as they face the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. For more information, visit www.richmondkickers.com.