After five straight wins for the Atlanta Silverbacks, the talent that had been assembled in Atlanta was obvious. But in those five straight wins, the team still lacked something. Despite it's wealth of quality players on the squad, it was clear that the team was yet to gel.
This is a typical early season result for a team with only three returning players. Wednesday night, the 'Backs ran into a side that possessed that crucial element that Atlanta has lacked so far, chemistry. This important factor was evident in this match, as the Richmond Kickers beat Atlanta 2-1 at Dekalb Memorial Stadium.
Coach Brett Mosen tweaked his lineup for the match, especially in the midfield where Nate Heterington and Carlos Parra entered in the lineup. Also, central defender Gilbert Jean-Baptiste got the start in the midfield, with Jason Annicchero making his first start (and appearance) of the season in the back. Up top, Iggy Moleka was back in the starting eleven in place of Velko Iotov.
David Hayes got the Kickers off to a quick start in the 2nd minute of play when he got the ball in the left half and beat Annicchero to the middle of the field, he then cracked a shot from inside 18. But 'Backs keeper Bryheem Hancock was up to the early challenge, and pushed the ball away.
He would make the biggest blunder of the game, and perhaps the season, just two minutes later. This time, Hayes took a pass in the left half of the 18 yard box, and sent a slow rolling shot that bounced in front of Hancock, and inexplicably rolled directly in between his legs for a goal. The Kickers were so surprised that they barely even celebrated the first goal of the match.
Former Silverback Josh Henderson received a pass in the right half of the box four minutes later and had his blast pushed away by Hancock. The Kickers were dominating. The 'Backs finally had a shot on goal in the 16th minute when Parra's free kick from 25 yards away curled directly into the arms of Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale.
Henderson should have put his team in the lead minutes later when he was served a diagonal ball from the right side and streaked into the box. But his shot hit right outside netting. Atlanta nearly scored the equalizer in the 25th minute when Jon Akin got his head on a free kick. His header sailed over Pascale, but hit the crossbar and was quickly cleared by the Richmond defense. Akin missed another chance in the 31st when Moleka and Baptiste combined with a beautiful give and go and Moleka played Akin a through ball. Akin failed to net what seemed have been a sure goal on his breakaway chance, as he sent his shot off a charging Pascale.
In the 35th, Jason Annicchero exited the match in favor of Phillipe Godoy enabling Baptiste to move back to defense. In the 37th, yet another Josh Henderson chance just missed when he turned at the penalty spot and the shot sailed over the net. Kevin Jeffrey played a brilliant ball to Henderson in the 39th, and he tried to chip a charging Hancock. But his chip was disastrous as it sailed directly into the awaiting arms of the keeper. Just before halftime, Kicker midfielder Mike Burke hit a brilliant full volley from outside the box that Hancock got a hand on and pushed away.
As halftime came, it was obvious that the 'Backs were lucky to be in the match. If not for atrocious finishing from an explosive Kickers attack, the 'Backs would have been trailing by at least 3 goals. At halftime, Mosen substituted Velko Iotov for Iggy Moleka.
In the 50th, poor finishing hurt Richmond yet again as Jeffrey stormed into Hancock's box with all sorts of time. But Hancock was able to get a piece of the shot, and it bounced off the post. In the 68th, Velko Iotov was forced to exit the match with an injury and Ryan Leib entered in his place. Four minutes after his entrance, Atlanta won a corner kick and Leib's header hit the crossbar.
Richmond finally put the 'Backs away in the 76th when Gilbert Jean-Baptiste made a rare mistake as his missed slide tackle allowed Kicker sub Khary Stockton to break into box alone. He then dribbled the ball around Hancock and sent the ball into the net just before James Wall could catch him from behind.
Atlanta should have got back in the game in the 86th minute when a pass rolled just in front of the 6-yard box and Leib missed his point blank shot wide. In the 88th, Jordy Broder played Wall inside the box and his shot was pushed out for a corner by Pascale. Late in stoppage time, Atlanta finally got on the board when Hetherington headed a cross into the back of the net with seconds left in the match. Richmond was able to hold onto the ball for the remaining seconds after the ensuing kickoff, and the 'Backs had lost their first match of the season.
Despite being dominated by a solid Richmond side, Atlanta can take many positives out of the match. Firstly, everyone must be wary of the aforementioned fact that talent on the field doesn't always translate into an excellent team, especially in the first part of the season. But Atlanta is getting there, and they took some positive steps towards excellence during the second 45 minutes when they finally began to possess the ball and barely missed the equalizer countless times.
As the season continues, Atlanta will begin to finish those chances. And they will also allow fewer chances then they did against Richmond. If anything, the match against the Kickers provided as a measuring stick for Atlanta. Now the 'Backs know how far they have to go to become the consistent side they hoped to become this season.
Ahead for Atlanta is a two week series with the El-Paso Patriots that will also act as qualifying for the US Open Cup. A tournament Atlanta narrowly missed out on last season. With another week of practice behind them, and another step towards consistency taken, Atlanta has the tools to defeat the Patriots Saturday in Texas
Man of the Match: Nate Hetherington
Hetherington's hard work on the right flank continued to stand out on Wednesday night. As he provided Atlanta's only goal of the game in the 90th minute.
Lineups
Atlanta - Hancock, Hetherington, Moleka(Iotov 45th, Leib 68th), Kraemer, Jean-Baptiste , Wall, Parra(Cooks 82nd), Annicchero(Godoy 35th), Akin, Piesner(Broder 60th), Mitchell
Richmond - Pascale, Goodlett, McKay, Luzak, Lekics, Dotsenko, Knight, Hayes (Munthali 89th), Burke(Ukrop 86th), Jeffrey(Stockton 64th), Henderson
Stats
Shots Saves Corners Fouls Offside
Atlanta 10 8 8 18 5
Richmond 12 7 7 15 3
Scoring
4th- Hayes
75th- Stockton (Hayes)
90th- Hetherington (Kraemer)
Cards
72nd- Wall
73rd- Mitchell
88th- Ukrop
