Richmond Kickers News Release -- www.richmondkickers.com
Friday, July 8, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. – A handful of the Richmond faithful waited out the nearly two-hour lightning delay at Richmond City Stadium to see a contentious, stoppage time tally by Brady Bryant boost the Charlotte Eagles to a 2-1 victory against the Richmond Kickers on Friday night.
Kickers defender William Yomby gave the Kickers an early lead before a second half tally by Eagles forward Sallieu Bundu leveled the score. The two teams made a mad dash for the highway immediately following the final whistle as they face off again in Charlotte tomorrow, Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m.
The steady rainfall persisted as the game kicked off just before 10 p.m., with Charlotte gaining possession right out of the gates. Despite the early pressure, it was the Kickers who had the best chance in the opening 20 minutes when a streaking Dave Hertel carried the ball down the right flank and served a cross into the box, finding Matthew Delicate unmarked on the far post. The Kickers' prolific goal-scorer narrowly missed his mark when his header whistled just past the upright.
The Eagles responded in the 33rd minute when a dangerous cross by Alan Sanchez found his strike-partner Darren Toby open at the penalty spot, but the Eagles forward volleyed the potential opener just past the far post.
Four minutes later, the Kickers claimed the advantage when Luke Vercollone delivered a free kick from midfield, finding Yomby in the air. Dropping the ball to his feet, he slotted a low ball through traffic into the far corner of the net to give the home side the edge.
Another 30-minute delay followed halftime, leaving the two soggy teams with an 11:30 p.m. restart. Ryan Heins set up a scoring opportunity after the late second half got underway when the onrushing midfielder carried the ball down the left flank and slotted it across the top of the box to a wide-open Delicate. Taking one touch, he fired from eight yards out but Reed rushed off his line to make the save.
Charlotte brought the scoreline level when second half substitutes Mark Bloom and Bundu connected in the 69th minute. Deep on the wing, Bloom delivered the ball into the box, finding Bundu who was able to beat his defender and poke the ball over the goal line.
The match seemed destined to remain deadlocked until a last-gasp effort by the Eagles stole all three points at City Stadium well after midnight. With just seconds to spare, midfielder Jorge Herrera fired a free kick from 35 yards out. Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale was able to smother the ball before a unrelenting Bryant forced the fumble and buried the rebound.
Tonight’s match will be aired on Fox Soccer Channel on Saturday, July 9 at 1 p.m. EDT.
Following this weekend’s back-to-back match-ups against Charlotte, the Richmond Kickers take on Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer on Tuesday, July 12 in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals. The Kickers return to regular season action at City Stadium on Saturday, July 16 when they play host to Antigua Barracuda FC at 7 p.m.