Kickers face Wilmington and Round Two of the Kickers Prediction Game of Awesome

Prior to every home game a panel of so-called experts will predict the outcome of the Richmond Kickers game. Each expert receives one point for each correct prediction. At the end of the season the winner gets a trophy and pack of gum.

April 9, 2015; 11:00 AM • by Richard Hayes

Richmond Kickers (0-2-0) play Friday, April 10th, 7:00 PM at City Stadium against the Wilmington Hammerheads (0-2-0). These two meet in their season open in Wilmington with a 2-2 draw. These past week Kickers played to a 1-1 draw against Louisville and Wilmington played to a 1-1 draw against Charlotte Independence. Last week’s game was a battle and seven yellow cards were passed out, with three going to Louisville and four to Richmond.

Missing from the Richmond line-up last week were two impact players, midfielder Brian Ownby (#22) and defender Hugh Roberts (#8). Both were on bench due to violation of team rules. In theory, this should help a team that has struggled in the first half of games. All three goals given up so far have occurred in the first half and the Kickers have yet to lead a game. The weather throws a wrench into this theory. The forecast is for 80 degree weather, rain, and thunderstorms. At best this means sloppy play and water in the beer (Happy Hour Special: two tickets, two beers for $20) and at worst it means multiple delays due to lightning and players that never truly get warmed up which in turn completely kills any rhythm.

Official game preview here  and another perspective here.  Get your tickets here and really the only way to go is season tickets or the Happy Hour Special above.

	Prediction	Reasoning	Score
RVANews Soccer Guru		This game will be wet, sloppy, and unsatisfying like most college love lives. To complete the analogy, there will be very little scoring, when it does happen it’ll be sheer luck, and one person’s poor judgement. Another 1-1 game and Kickers remain undefeated and unwinning.	0
Red Army		Jaws 2. Sharknado 2. Probably some other shark-themed films. Their second attempt is never as good as their first. It’ll be the same this week, Wilmington won’t come close to playing the Kickers like they did two weeks ago. Should be a nice easy 3-1 win for the home team.	0
Richmond Kickers		I’ve never been big on oceans. Long walks on the beach, yes, but oceans…that would be a big no. There’s only one thing in the ocean that I do not fear and that is the hammerhead. So naturally, judging by my logic, that will mean that the Kickers will win (as if I would give you any other reason to not think that).	0
Total Soccer Show		It’s time for the Kickers to break free from all those ties. My prediction is that Brian Ownby will be forgiven for the “violation of team rules” that saw him sit out the game against Louisville and redeem himself by scoring the winner.	0

Last week’s predictions (nobody got it right).

RVANews Soccer Guru (Richard Hayes): All of Richard’s soccer knowledge comes from playing FIFA on the original Playstation and standing in bars, drinking, and yelling at the television. He also helps run RVA DCU and is a member of American Outlaws Richmond Chapter, which mainly involves drinking and yelling at televisions.

Red Army (Matt Myers) — Reigning Champion: Matt was sent off by Leigh Cowlishaw in a summer camp scrimmage as a pre-teen but has not held that against the team. He’s coming to grips with being a relatively old man now after seeing the youngsters in the Red Army and on the Kickers roster. He’s also attended way more matches than he should admit to, especially for having lived in Richmond a total of one out of the last 13 years.

Richmond Kickers (Kickeroo): The Kicker from down under. He doesn’t really like anyone who isn’t a fan of the Kickers. A daredevil who will pretty much try anything and everything but would rather not talk (on the advice from lawyers) about the incident with the scooter and the Flaming Hoop of Death. He’s also a sensitive marsupial who enjoys long walks on a dew-covered soccer field and watching the sun set behind the goal post. He also shares something with the new Kickers beer, Kick It Hunny: hops.

Total Soccer Show (Daryl Grove): Daryl is English so every thing he says about footsoccerball naturally carries more weight because he says it a British accent. He is also part of the excellent local radio show and podcast Total Soccer Show that keeps track of all soccer related things in an intelligent and fun way. If you’re not listening to the Total Soccer Show you need to change that post haste.

April 9, 2015 11:00 AM · in Fan of the Fan, Hills and Heights, and more 0