The Richmond Kickers (11-6-6) were held to a 1-1 draw versus FC Cincinnati (12-4-6) on Saturday night at City Stadium. The Kickers took the lead through Sunny Jane, but Cincinnati equalized through Andrew Wiedeman’s free kick.
The Richmond Kickers (11-6-6) were held to a 1-1 draw versus FC Cincinnati (12-4-6) on Saturday night at City Stadium. The Kickers took the lead through Sunny Jane, but Cincinnati equalized through Andrew Wiedeman’s free kick.
The first chance of the game fell to Cincinnati, who called Andrew Dykstra into action. A high cross from the left found the head of Austin Berry, who forced Dykstra to make an acrobatic save to tip the ball over the crossbar and out for a corner kick.
The Kickers had their best chance of the first half in the 11th minute of the game. Cincinnati goalkeeper, Mitch Hildebrandt, first saved a Kickers attempt, before Sunny Jane would collect the ball in the box and fire a low shot from an acute angle that struck the FCC post and was cleared.
Anthony Grant then had a chance to open the scoring late in the first half. A deflected ball sat up perfectly for Grant at the top of the box, who would volley the ball towards the right corner, but would roll just wide of Hildebrandt’s post.
In a game of few chances, with both teams sharing the ball, the Kickers had a real chance to break the deadlock in the 60th minute. After great build up play from Richmond, the ball was laid off to Fred Owusu Sekyere at the top of the box, whose shot would deflect off of a Cincinnati defender and go out just wide of the FCC goal.
Richmond took the lead in the 63rd minute through Sunny Jane. Second half substitutions, Scott Thomson and Brian Ownby, linked up well on the left side of the field. Ownby carried the ball into the box and chipped a dangerous ball back across the goal, Mitch Hildebrandt got a glove on the cross, but the ball fell to Sunny Jane on the penalty spot, who would calmly collect the ball and smash the ball into the net, giving Richmond a 1-0 lead.
Brian Ownby and Scott Thomson again linked up just minutes later to cause the Cincinnati defense problems. Thomson sent a deep cross from the left wing finding Brian Ownby in the box, whose header would force Hildebrandt into a diving save to prevent the Kickers from doubling their lead.
Cincinnati would equalize in the 81st minute from a free kick. From 30 yards, Andrew Wiedeman would curl the all over the Richmond wall and into the bottom right hand corner of Dykstra’s goal, leveling the score at 1-1.
Both teams pushed for the winner in the final minutes of the game, but neither team were able to create any real chances. With that draw, the Kickers remain undefeated in their last eight games, with seven of those being wins.
The Richmond Kickers will be back on Wednesday, August 17 when they host the Charleston Battery. Tickets can be found online at RichmondKickers.com.
