Kickers advance to 2nd round of US Open Cup!
Our Richmond Kickers hosted the NASL Crystal Palace Baltimore last night in the opening round of the US Open Cup winning in overtime on a 119th minute header from Matthew Delicate.
Our Richmond Kickers hosted the NASL Crystal Palace Baltimore last night in the opening round of the US Open Cup. For those unfamiliar with the US Open Cup it’s a tournament featuring teams from all levels of the US soccer pyramid, similar to the FA Cup in England. This is the tournament that saw the Kickers host and beat Landon Donavon and the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy three years ago (I blogged it here and here). In my opinion this is the most exciting soccer tournament we have in the US and it really deserves to get more publicity than it does.
Tonight’s game was a testy affair that saw the teams battle away and saw regulation end in a 0-0 tie. Being a knockout tournament the game then went into overtime. For most of regulation the Kickers would create better chances but just couldn’t finish. Baltimore also got a fair amount of shots but most of them missed badly. The Kickers were able to pull out a very exciting victory in overtime on a 119th minute goal from Matthew Delicate. The goal was a header that Delicate got on a nice pass from Edson Elcock. Elcock’s speed gave Baltimore fits all night and he kept at it for 120 minutes and should be commended for that.
The Kickers continue in the tournament and play the Real Maryland Monarchs(from Rockville) who pulled off their own overtime win tonight against Reading United AC. The game is next Tuesday night at 7pm here in RVA at City Stadium (formerly UR Stadium) — you won’t want to miss it! If the Kickers win, their next game will be against an MLS team. It’s a White Out, so wear white when you come out and your ticket will only be $5! See you there, and Go Kickers!
Sidebar: Also entertaining at the game was a near fight in the stands. After a near fight on the field that resulted in a player from each team getting a yellow card, one particular male fan (man #1) took it upon himself to start screaming obscenities at the ref. Another fan (man #2), who happened to be a rather large and intimidating man, came over and told man #1 that he didn’t want his daughter to hear the words that man #1 was yelling. Man #2 got in man #1’s face and insisted upon it. There was some back and forth until man #2 made a fist and cocked his arm and then a bunch of other dad’s who didn’t want their kids to see a fist fight jumped in and separated them. Needless to say, we did not hear another peep out of man #1 the rest of the night.
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Daniel Farrell
Daniel is a soccer fan and an IT/Web geek. He lives, works, and plays in and around Church Hill.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
You curse in front of my kid and I will start a fight. The strong mentality of today’s concerned parents.
Totally agree with your assessment of the Open Cup, it doesn’t get nearly the respect it should. I was at the game last night but had to leave at the 90 minute mark due to my youngsters bedtime. Lot of long ball with very little development in the midfield. Was impressed with Burke of the kickers. Congrats to the Kickers on the win. Hope they get another win and can take on some MLS teams.