Neither side was able to enjoy a spell of possession in the opening minutes of the first half, and it wasn’t until the 24th minute that the Kickers were able to break down the Rochester defense. Following a Richmond free kick, Stanley Nyazamba crossed a ball into the penalty area for Delicâte, who curled a header over Rochester goalkeeper Neal Kitson and into the net for 1-0. The game opened up for both teams after the goal, but there were few goalscoring opportunities before halftime.
Rochester applied more attacking pressure after the restart, but were unable to fashion a clear cut scoring chance until the final ten minutes of the match, when Rochester substitute Andrew Hoxie’s low shot was punched away by Kickers keeper Ronnie Pascale. The Rhinos nearly capitalized from the resulting corner, but defender Troy Roberts’ header found the post before it was eventually cleared. The Richmond defense was able to keep the Rhinos at bay to move to 3-0 on the season.
Coach Leigh Cowlishaw said he was satisfied with the victory, despite it not being the Kickers’ best performance. “I’m pleased we defended resolutely and we found a way to win,” Cowlishaw said. “To get the third win on the bounce, you can’t ask for anything more.”
Rochester coach Bob Lilley said “We’re happy with how we played against a good team; it was our first game of the year. Obviously, it’s always disappointing when you don’t win, but I can’t fault our guys for the effort.”
The Rhinos will look to rebound from the loss in time for their game against the Wilmington Hammerheads on Saturday.
The Kickers will be back in action next Saturday at 5 p.m., as they host the Charleston Battery at Richmond City Stadium. For more information, visit http://www.richmondkickers.com/.
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