Richmond Kickers 4-0 Arizona United: Lightning delayed win for the Kickers

After a lackluster first half, the Richmond Kickers rode their man advantage to a 4-0 win over Arizona United SC. The game was interrupted by a lightning delay after two spouts of heavy rain, but the Kickers were able to overcome a poor first half to win the game.

In the first half, the Kickers were never able to get much offense going, often finding themselves tripping over teammates as they battled for the same space. The wingers, Shay Spitz and George Davis IV, were cutting into the middle, which was occupied by Matthew Delicate and Collin Martin. Delicate is a traditional English center forward, meaning he does not pull wide to allow those players space when they cut in.

However, the game was changed in the middle of the first half, when Bradlee Baladez shoved Shay Spitz to the ground after the two had a spat about the taking of quick free kick. While the Kickers were not able to take advantage of it until the second half and the introduction of Jason Yeisley in the place of Luke Vercollone. For the first goal, Collin Martin collected the ball on a break and laid it off for George Davis IV, whose low shot beat Evan Newton. Ten minutes later, Taylor Kemp whipped in a perfect cross to the head of Matthew Delicate, who headed it past Newton as well.

The game was delayed in the 76th minute due to lightning; after a 30 minute delay, the game resumed. Christiano Francois used a burst of speed to get past the Arizona backline and put himself in on the keeper; he did not miss the ensuing shot. An own goal by Tyler Ruthven in the dying minutes finalized the score, with pressure being put on him by Hugh Roberts. The Kickers are back in action next weekend when they take on OKC Energy in Oklahoma City.