View from the Corner

Eagles finally get the better of us

The Kickers went to Charlotte on Friday night in what was always going to be a difficult tie. The Eagles have always been a tough proposition, particularly in USL2 as they are consistently loaded with attacking talent and have a strong team ethic. Richmond have probably been fortunate to keep the upper hand in the rivalry over the past two seasons, but on Friday the tables turned - and how.

After a disappointing 2007 season scraping into the play-offs only to lose in overtime at Richmond, Charlotte made their intentions known in the off-season when the acquired Robert Ssejjemba. And just to make sure the league was paying attention, they soundly thrashed the Bermuda Hogges 6-0 on opening day.

Richmond on the other hand have lost a number of key players in the off-season and replaced them with mostly rookies. It was always going to take some time to let the team settle in, but a 3-0 victory over the Pioneers last week gave us a sense of security. However a loss by the same scoreline to Charlotte appears to signify that the Kickers have finally assimilated to USL-2 standards.

It was always going to happen, good players eventually rise to the league that matches their ability - or they end up quitting because they know they can do better than their paltry USL-2 paycheck. The Kickers seem to be better than most at creating loyalty within the squad as is proven by our ability to retain the likes of Mike Burke, Ronnie Pascale and Matt Watson. But it becomes a lot more difficult to attract the best new talent when you are playing on the third rung of the US soccer ladder.

I’m not saying that the Kickers are going to suck now, Charlotte are easily one of the best franchises in the league and while a loss on the road this early into the season is disappointing, it’s not the end of the world. However, I believe it’s a sign that we are going to struggle against the better sides this season, and considering we were unable to beat Harrisburg and Cleveland in the league last year, come August we could see a much lower finish than we are used to.

Hopefuly the Kickers will improve as the season goes on and we will get the results against Charlotte that we have come to expect, particularly at home. But I think the honeymoon is over and we are in for a rocky season. On the plus side, it could also make for a more exciting, nail-biting affair and finally shake off that sense of entitlement that we Kickers fans seem to have had the last two years.

2 weeks ago

Kickers claim three on opening day

The opening day of the season is always an exciting time, expectations are at their height as the squad finally begins to take shape. All the pre-season rumors and speculation take a back seat to the action on the field and we look to reacquaint ourselves with returning stars and get to know the latest crop of new signings.

And what a glorious day to begin the season, the sun beamed brightly over the blooming city - perfect for the planned tailgate in the parking lot beforehand. I arrived at the stadium shortly after 5pm and was surprised to see the number of families who uphold this American sporting tradition at little old UofR, I think it is something our band of fans (the Corner Kicks? the Red Army?) should partake in more often.

Unfortunately, almost predictably, the first half of the game was a severe let-down after such a wonderful build-up. Both teams entered the game looking uninspired and rusty, finding it difficult to string along any meaningful passes (or long-balls) together. The misery was compounded when Kevin Knight had to be substituted 12 minutes in after pulling his hamstring, clearly the man’s sabbatical has left him a little out of practice. We had one decent chance when Luke Vercollone blasted a saved shot over the crossbar, but other than that it was a pretty forgetful period.

Fortunately the Kickers finally awoke from their hibernation in the second half and actually started putting the moves on. I have to say that Ben Hunter already looks like the big acquisition for this season, he is a tireless runner and always seems to put the ball into dangerous positions. Having assisted two goals in the pre-season friendly against DC United, he played a part yet again in what was an incredibly orchestrated opening goal.

Mike Burke took a free-kick from 25 yards out. He passed it to Vercollone on the edge of the box to his right, Vellocrone then one timed a looping pass to Hunter on the left edge of the six-yard area. Rather than shoot, Hunter volleyed the ball across the face of goal where Anthony Catalano was waiting to head the ball past a diving Matt Glaeser and into the back of the net. This impressive maneuver was clearly developed on the training ground and I can only imagine how confused the defense were as they watched the ball ping back and forth in the box.

The second goal was a classic cross and volley as Hunter provided his second of the night, this time to Mike Burke. I have a feeling we will see a lot of goals scored like that this season as once again our strength (and speed) is on the wings, which is fine as long as our forwards can finish the job.

The Pioneers were pretty much finished after that, obviously they tried to push forward but it was nothing our back-line couldn’t handle (especially when it came to a certain Neil Kraus, the guy is built like a tank and moves like one too). The Kickers finally finished them off in the 89th minute when Stanley Nyazamba, just on for Burke, was clattered down at the edge of the box. David Bulow scored easily from the penalty spot, perhaps drawing the attention of Fabio Capello.

And that was that, opening day ended with three goals, three points and a shut-out, not a bad days work all considered. There are definitely a few kinks to work out as the players are continue to work on their chemistry, but it’s a confidence-lifting result going into a crucial road game against Charlotte this weekend. 3 weeks ago

Bob goes to Charlotte

It always stings to see one of your favorite players go to a rival team, Robert Ssejjemba is certainly no exception.

It was the week before Christmas in 2004 that news broke that the Kickers had signed a new forward out of Virginia Intermont College. Pre-season reports were promising as the Ugandan racked up the goals against college opposition. He made his professional debut as a substitute in the season opener against the Atlanta Silverbacks, one fan describing him as being ‘a little eager’.

In a season where the Kickers had a wealth of options up top thanks to Matt Delicâte, McColm Cephas and Kevin Jeffrey (those were the days), ‘Bob’ had a hard time breaking into the team but managed to make some notable appreances and ended the season with three goals.

After the Kickers relegated themselves to Division 2 in 2006, Ssejjemba was the sole survivor of the previous season’s striking quartet, practically guaranteeing him a starting position. It proved to be a break-out year as Bob set the league alight with 17 goals in 19 games, earning the D2 MVP to go with his championship medal. He was a joy to watch that season, enjoying his game and slicing easily through opposing defences. DC United were impressed enough to loan him for the remainder of the MLS season.

With such an impressive year under his belt, Ssejjemba became a marked man in 2007. It wasn’t unusual to see the guy double and even triple covered whenever the Kickers moved forward. As a result he only managed six goals in 16 games tying both Ricky Schramm and Matt Watson for leading goalscorer (the Kickers scored 13 less goals than the previous campaign). He also missed the end of the season due to family issues.

Given the frustrations of last year perhaps Bob feels he needs a fresh start to get back to his best. I don’t think it’s about the money, and I’d bet the Kickers would have gladly re-signed him given the opportunity. But players tend to go to Charlotte for a ‘higher calling’ and given the work they frequently do in his home country of Uganda with the church, I’m sure this was the main motivation for Ssejjemba’s move.

Our loss is certainly Charlotte’s gain and I can only wish the man the best of luck in his personal life and thank him for the memories. I’m pretty sure we will see him scoring at UR Stadium again, it just won’t be for us.

1 month ago

Kickers defeat DC (Reserves) yet again.

What a great way to start a season. In spite of a slew of new players in the Richmond squad the team put together a polished performance to easily defeat the reserves of DC United on Saturday night.

The evening began with a feeling of dread as I looked over a rather unfamiliar roster list, only a few names stood out (Jones, Pascale, Burke & Bulow) the rest seemed to be a multicultural mix of new players (Catalano, Chavez, Paschalis, Vercollone, Bumbut…). None of our strikers have returned which left me wondering who was going to score the goals for us this season.

As if that wasn’t enough, the negativity was further compounded by the hoards of DC fans that had made the trip to UR/City Stadium. I’m all for a bit of rivalry, but it’s downright humiliating when visitors come and outshout the home team. It didn’t help that Barra Brava parked themselves right behind the Corner Kicks rendering my shouting pretty much worthless (at least until the third goal went in). Credit to them, they are great fans, but it’s just depressing that we are still struggling to get a corp of fanatical followers at Richmond.

Still, it was nice to be back at a live game - the off-season seems to have gotten unbearably long since the Kickers moved down to D2. And it didn’t take long for the home team to get us in celebratory mood as Mike Burke blasted in the first goal just two minutes after kick-off.

The early lead allowed Richmond to play with confidence and control the game. In the first half I was very impressed with the organization on the back line, United rarely had a sniff at goal as they were forced to take long range efforts and regularly flagged offside (much to the annoyance of the visiting fans).

I was equally impressed with Burkie’s performance, it looks like he will continue the great work of last season acting as the team’s fulcrum; quickly moving the ball from defence to attack with great vision. New guy Ben Hunter looked pretty sharp too, he assisted both first half goals and looked dangerous for most of the game.

After the third goal went in, Richmond kept attacking and could have easily scored more in the second half. United were getting visibily frustrated as the Kickers kept beating their poorly administrated offside trap. If we had a deadlier striker we could have easily ran the score up.

DC brought on Clyde Simms in the 67th minute and the former Kicker received a warm welcome from the Richmond crowd. One can only hope that DC doesn’t take a liking to any of our current crop of players, but I could hardly blame them if they did.

Overall, it was a very solid performance from Richmond and bodes well for the new season. I’m always impressed with the talent Jesse and Leigh dig up and it looks like this season will be no different. It’s just a shame we can’t play DC every week, though that’s probably a good thing for my vocal chords.

1 month ago