With only two losses so far this season, the Atlanta
Silverbacks have many reasons to consider their season
a success thus far. But despite their record, the
'Backs know that they will have to defeat two top
teams in their division that have dominated them in
recent years, the Richmond Kickers and Charleston
Battery. And so far this year, Atlanta's two defeats
have both come at the hands of the mighty Kickers, a
team Atlanta hasn't defeated since 2000. The latest
defeat to Richmond came on a warm summer night in
Atlanta, when Richmond stormed into the deep south and
came out with a 3-0 victory over the 'Backs.
On the field, Coach Brett Mosen surprised the crowd
by inserting Judah Cooks as Atlanta's loan striker in
place of Iggy Moleka and moving John Akin back to
midfield. Also, Jordy Broder entered the starting
lineup as the central midfielder. Velko Iotov's injury
problems continued as well as he missed his third
consecutive match.
Things were looking up for the 'Backs in the first
ten minutes as they controlled the run of play. In the
10th minute, defender Alan Woods made a brilliant run
between two Richmond defenders and was dragged down
from behind by Peter Luzak. With a clear path to the
goal, many expected a red to be shown to Luzak, but
Reggie Rutty issued only a yellow. The ensuing free
kick sailed over the bar. Mike Burke had the first
shot of the match for the Kickers four minutes later
when he made space for himself outside of the box and
blasted his shot over the bar.
The Kickers controlled
the play from then on and scored the opening goal in
the 20th minute when a corner kick deflected off an
Atlanta player and found the head of Luzak who sent
his header past Atlanta goalkeeper Cole Burgman.
'Backs midfielder Nate Hetherington nearly cleared the
ball off the line, but he had little time to react and
the ball came off his foot and into the back of the
net. The 'Backs thought that Luzak was in an offside
position, but the linesmen thought otherwise and let
the goal stand.
Just two minutes later, the Kickers
struck again. With the ball in his own half, Mike
Burke served a perfect longball onto the feet of
Richmond attacker Kevin Jeffrey who ran by defender
Gilbert Jean-Baptiste, and beat a helpless Burgman far
post. Once again, the 'Backs were furious that the
linesmen hadn't called offside. In the 26th minute a
Brian Piesner free kick from the right half of the
field found the head of an unmarked Woods in the right
corner of the 6-yard box, but Woods' head betrayed
him, and the golden opportunity sailed over the bar.
Richmond nearly made the score 3-0 in the 37th. Josh
Henderson's chance from inside the box was pushed away
by Cole Burgman and the rebound fell to Jeffrey, but
his low shot was cleared off the line by Steve Kraemer
and a foul was called on Henderson during a scrum for
the second rebound.
A rough first half turned chaotic
late in the first 45 when Piesner again argued with
the linesmen about no offside being called. Then the
match took a controversial turn. While arguing with
the linesmen, an angry Piesner threw his arms up with
his fist clenched as a Richmond played walk behind
them. Piesner appeared to inadvertently strike the
player in the chest. The Richmond player fell to the
ground and Piesner was sent off, all but ending
Atlanta's hopes of a decent result. A fight ensued
between Woods and Kevin Knight and a few punches were
thrown before the two could be separated. The referee
also sent off Atlanta fans after he was berated by
them and was also struck by a few rolls of toilet
paper. The half ended in this chaotic manner, and it
was apparent that Rutty had lost complete control of
the match.
Mosen emptied his bench at the half, substituting
strikers Moleka and John Barry Nusum into the match
for Cooks and Akin. Also entering was the attacking
minded Phillipe Godoy and Byron Mitchell. Nusum
immediately began to make an impact as Broder found
him in the box with one defender to beat. Nusum opted
to take a shot from the left half of the box rather
than crossing to Moleka and the ball sailed over the
crossbar. A cross from Luzak found a wide-open Jeffrey
whose point blank header missed the goal in the 67th.
In the 70th the 'Backs had their best chance of the
match when Heatherington's cross found Moleka for a
header in the box. The shot beat Richmond goalkeeper
Ronnie Pascale but clanked off the crossbar.
The 'Backs would continue to pressure as the match wore
on, but Richmond finished them off in the 77th. With
the ball outside the box after a pass from Tony
Williams, Cole Burgman appeared to have Marco
Feruzzi's curving shot covered, but it deflected off
the head of a diving Woods who was trying to clear the
shot and ended up in the back of the net. Williams was
ejected later in the match for a vicious tackle away
from the ball on Atlanta substitute Byron Mitchell.
Atlanta was no longer down a man, but the three goal
deficit was too much to overcome, and a Woods header
that sailed over the crossbar in injury time was the
final chance for the 'Backs.
With Richmond's resounding victory over Atlanta, it
seems that the 'Backs are still yet to catch up to
their division rivals. The Kickers have come into
Dekalb Memorial Stadium and dominated Atlanta twice in
this young season. Despite their seven wins, Atlanta
knows that if they can't beat the top teams in their
division, they will not accomplish what they are
capable of this season.
Man of the Match: Alan Woods
The defender had a good match for the 'Backs,
creating many opportunities with excellent individual
skill and also won many headers in the back and in the
attacking half for the 'Backs.
Stats
Shots Saves Corners Fouls Offside
Atlanta 14 3 5 15 4
Richmond 14 3 6 20 1
Lineups
Atlanta - Burgman, Parra, Kraemer, Judah Cooks(Moleka,
45), John Akin(Nusum,45th), Alan Woods, James
Wall(Annicchero, 68th), Jordy Broder(Mitchell, 68th),
Baptiste(Godoy, 45th), Piesner, Heatherington
Richmond - Pascale, Lekics, Luzak, Goodlet, McKay,
Knight, Ferruzzi, Burke(Williams, 67th), Hayes,
Jeffrey, Henderson(Ukrop, 74th)
Scoring
20th- Luzak
22nd- Jeffrey(Burke)
76th- Feruzzi(Williams)
Cards
9th- Luzak
45th- Piesner (RED)
51st- Mitchell
78th- Williams (RED)
