Palace Baltimore Come Away From Richmond With Point

Published on May 24, 2009 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Crystal Palace Baltimore News Release


Richmond VA - Crystal Palace Baltimore and the Richmond Kickers played to a 1-1 draw tonight at University of Richmond Stadium. Palace captain Val Teixeira headed Palace into the lead on the half-hour mark, but less than a minute into the second half, Adrian Bumbut leveled the score from close range. In a physical contest, referee John Schmitz issued eight yellow cards, while a series of serious injuries resulted in a total of 10 minutes of injury time being played at the end of regulation.

Palace had the best early chance when on three minutes, veteran Richmond goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale failed to gather the ball cleanly from a corner. In the ensuing scramble, Palace center back Stephen Basso, laying on his back, managed to flick a shot over Pascale, but Yomby William headed the ball off the line. But his clearance only went as far as Palace striker John Nusum near the edge of the box. The Bermudian international left his feet, sending a bicycle kick a yard over the crossbar.

As the game settled into a rhythm over the next 20 minutes, neither team managed to make much progress. Each side's defense seemed to be handling the other's offensive efforts with relative comfort, with Richmond having a slight edge on the possession front.

On 24 minutes, Nusum challenged for a ball and landed awkwardly on his left leg, screaming and clutching his knee as he fell to the floor. After four minutes of treatment on the field, he was carried off by the captains of both teams, and replaced by Jordan Seabrook.

In the 29th minute, Palace center back Andrew Marshall battled hard half-way up the right wing to win the ball and played it through to Seabrook, sending him into a foot race with Pascale in the Richmond net. The 'keeper just got there first and whacked the ball out of play from just outside his area.

As the half hour mark arrived, Baltimore right back Paul Robson floated over a probing cross from the right to the far side of the box. Palace captain Val Teixeira out-jumped his marker and headed the ball down towards the far post. Pascale just got a hand to the ball as it bounced up off the turf and the ball looked destined to bounce safely wide. But the considerable amount of spin on the ball sent it backwards and across the goal line to put Palace ahead.

Richmond were looking to get right back in the game and the following minute, Ben Hunter fired in a dangerous low cross from the byline looking for Kenny Cutler sprinting into the area, but Rowland leapt off his line to steal the ball off Cutler's toes.

On 42 minutes, Kickers forward Joey Worthen latched onto a nice through ball, turned his marker and fired a shot back across the goal, but Rowland reacted superbly, blocking it then gathering the loose ball.

Three minutes later and it was another close call for Palace as a testing cross flew into the middle of the box, but the danger was cleared emphatically by Teixeira. Richmond were piling on the pressure and on 47 minutes, Cutler's cross picked out Joey Worthen eight yards out, dead center. Under a strong challenge from a Palace defender, his header sailed over the bar and Palace had managed to hold on to their lead going into the break.

But less than a minute into the second half, Richmond veteran Mike Burke took a shot from the right. Rowland was able to block the effort, but the ball fell to Joey Worthen who slid a pass to Adrian Bumbut seven yards out and he slammed the ball home to tie the game.

Another minute later and Brian Rowland had to be at his best to keep Palace at level pegging, pulling off a great save from Ben Hunter's shot. Richmond continued to dominate the opening period of the second half, but play was brought to a stop on 51 minutes. Palace's Shintaro Harada and Richmond's Gerson dos Santos clashed heads, leaving Harada without one of his front teeth and dos Santos receiving treatment for a gash in his head for more than six minutes. Harada stayed in the game, while dos Santos left with a heavily bandaged head.

In the 70th minute, a high, mis-kicked cross from the left bounced off the top of Pascale's crossbar and rebounded to an open Andrew Marshall just on the right edge of the six-yard box. He tried to head the ball down to an unmarked Pat Healey standing three yards out with just the 'keeper to worry about, but the ball fell just out of Healey's reach and Richmond cleared their lines.

Plenty of excellent defensive work was stifling the offensive efforts at both ends as the final quarter of an hour of regulation was reached. Then on 78 minutes, Seabrook threaded a low cross straight along the top of the 18-yard box to Kevin Gnatiko, who had entered the game six minutes earlier for Teixeira. Gnatiko jinked his way past his marker to give himself room to shoot, but his effort flew well over the crossbar.

It was Richmond's turn to look for the winning goal and on 86 minutes, Yomby William directed his header just past the far post from a corner on the left.

Seconds before the regulation 90 minutes were up, Kelvin Jones - who had only entered the contest five minutes earlier - sustained a head injury during an innocuous-looking challenge from Dan Lader and required several minutes of treatment on the field. He eventually left the game to receive stitches, while the fourth official belatedly signaled ten minutes of added time, despite the clock having reached the 90 minute mark three minutes earlier.

After Crystal Palace failed to capitalize on a 95th minute free-kick, Richmond launched a speedy counter-attack culminating in David Bulow's sharp cross to Cutler in the box. Cutler laid the ball back to the onrushing Ross MacKenzie who teed up a powerful strike but a Palace defender did well to block the shot.

A minute later, Healey lofted a perfectly-weighted ball which split the Richmond defense, sending Kevin Gnatiko clean through on Pascale and the Richmond goal, but the Togolese winger couldn't take advantage, sliding his shot a foot wide of the right-hand post and the Baltimore team had to settle for a point.

Palace head straight back out on the road again as they depart Baltimore Monday for Ludlow, Massachusetts, where they'll face the Western Mass Pioneers Tuesday night May 26 at 7:30pm.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 24, 2009


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