Richmond Kickers News Release - www.richmondkickers.com
Saturday, August 6, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers closed out their final home game of the season with a 3-0 win over the Dayton Dutch Lions on Saturday night, thanks to goals by William Yomby and Matthew Delicâte.
The Kickers held the majority of possession in a game where Dayton seemed content to sit back and play for a scoreless draw. The Dutch Lions couldn’t hold the Kickers’ attacks for too long, though, and Richmond was able to capitalize on their pressure in the 24th minute following a corner kick. Nozomi Hiroyama played the ball short to Sascha Goerres, who returned the ball to the Japanese midfielder. Hiroyama played a ball across the face of goal where Yomby William was waiting to sidefoot the ball into the top of the net.
Richmond quickly added a second through Matthew Delicâte in the 30th minute after some nifty footwork by Stanley Nyazamba earned him the space to play a cross into the box. Delicâte flicked his diving header into the far corner of the net beyond Dayton keeper Jesper Leerdam.
The second half followed a similar trajectory to the first, with Richmond on the front foot early on. Jamel Wallace drove into the Dayton penalty area in the 53rd minute, but was dragged down by Dutch Lions defender Bret Jones. The referee awarded the penalty kick, which Delicâte calmly slotted into the lower right corner of the net to give the Kickers a three-goal lead.
However, the scoreline could have been much more drastic for the Kickers. Edson Elcock’s strike hit the post in the 66th minute, and substitute striker David Bulow had two golden scoring opportunities denied by Leerdam.
“We should have done a lot better,” Richmond coach Leigh Cowlishaw said. “We’ll see where it takes us for the away trips, because we’re going to have to perform a lot better to pick up any points.”
The Kickers close out their 2011 regular season with a three-game stint on the road that will determine their playoff status.