Long Island Rough Riders  0 
Richmond Kickers  5 (Watson 20’, Ssejjemba 67’, Carrieri 74’,
   Neagu 75’, 90’)      

                         

Richmond, VA – The Richmond Kickers handed a 5-0 defeat to the Long Island Rough Riders, earning three points, on a Saturday night at UR Stadium.  The Rough Riders were forced to play a man down for the majority of the match when goalkeeper Eric Masters was ejected due to handling the ball outside the box.  Richmond goals were tallied by Watson, Ssejjemba, Carrieri and Neagu (2).

 

In the 11th minute, newcomer Matt Watson received the ball overtop the Long Island defense and played one-on-one with Rough Riders goalkeeper Eric Masters.  Masters charged out of the penalty area to save Watson’s first-time shot with his arm and was subsequently shown a red card by the center referee for handling the ball outside of the box.  The Rough Riders, lacking a second goalkeeper on the roster, were forced to shift their lineup to put forward Moussa Sy between the posts. 

 

Eight minutes later, Watson connected on an assist from Burke for his first professional goal.  After receiving the ball at the top of the box, Watson’s shot deflected off Long Island defender Rich Bradley and awkwardly bounced past a diving Sy. 

 

Richmond forward Chris Carrieri sought to increase the lead in the 27th minute after receiving the ball ahead of the last Rough Riders defender and was called offside just prior to putting the goal in the back of the net.  From eight yards out, Brown created another close call when his shot ricocheted off the left post in the 32nd minute. 

 

Long Island looked for the equalizer in the 43rd minute and 45th minutes when a free kick taken by midfielder Fausto Klinger forced Richmond goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale to make a leaping save followed by an intercepted throw-in by midfielder Ricardo Ordain who attempted a 20-yard blast smothered by Pascale.
  
After the second-half restart, the Kickers created several chances including a close call by Watson in the 58th minute, which sailed over the crossbar.  Long Island increased their offensive pressure soon after with a shot from defender Paul Robson from the far right side but his attempt sailed just wide. 

 

The Kickers doubled their lead over Long Island in the 68th minute when Burke curled the ball into the box off a corner kick.  Defender Kevin Knight won the ball in the area and after a series of touches in the box, forward Robert Ssejjemba headed the loose ball into the back of the net, past the diving Sy. 

Richmond increased the lead to three-nil when Brown found an open spot in the Long Island defense and connected with Carrieri who tucked the ball into the lower right hand corner for his first goal of the season in the 74th minute.

 

Richmond rookie Cristian Neagu increased the scoreline to five-nil after two consecutive goals.  First, in the 75th minute Ssejjemba crossed the ball to an unmarked Neagu in the penalty area who slid the ball past Sy for the fourth goal of the night.  Then, he closed out the night with a last minute goal when Carrieri crossed the ball to newcomer Eric Dutt in the middle. Dutt placed the ball coolly to Neagu at the six-yard spot who redirected the ball into the lower corner of the net. 

 

The Richmond Kickers will take on the Harrisburg City Islanders next Sunday, May 14th at 4:00 p.m. at the University of Richmond Stadium.  In honor of Mother’s Day, the first 500 mothers through the gate will receive a free carnation courtesy of Wilkinson’s Flowers.

 

Box Score      First Half     Second Half  Final
Long Island        0                    0            0
Richmond           1                    4            5

 

Scoring Summary
20th minute – Richmond: Matt Watson (Mike Burke)
67th minute – Richmond: Robert Ssejjemba
74th minute – Richmond: Chris Carrieri (Tim Brown)
75th minute – Richmond: Cristian Neagu (Robert Ssejjemba)
90th minute – Richmond: Cristian Neagu (Eric Dutt)
 
Lineups
 Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale (Steve Ankiel – 83’), Kevin Knight (Trevor McEachron – 78’), Steven Wolfe (Ed Hayden – 76’), Kelvin Jones, Tony Williams, Matt Watson, Michael Burke (Eric Dutt – 76’), Andy Metcalf (Cristian Neagu – 59’), Tim Brown, Chris Carrieri, Robert Ssejjemba
 Rough Riders: GK Eric Masters, Rich Bradley, Gary Sullivan, Darrell Etienne (Jose Sura – 45’), Rob Fucci, Fausto Klinger (Federico Bianchi – 75’), Ishmael Mintah, Ricardo Ordain (Anthony Barbiere – 79’), Lee Snodin (Paul Robson – 31’), Moussa Sy, Derrick Ettienne (Douglas Narvaez – 75’)

 

Shots                                          Saves                         Fouls                             Corners
Rough Riders:      4                     Rough Riders:   4       Rough Riders: 8            Rough Riders: 5
Kickers:   17                                Kickers:     2               Kickers:      13               Kickers:    8

 

Cautions:
80th minute: Anthony Barbiere (Long Island)

 

Ejections:
11th minute: Eric Masters (Long Island)

 

Referee:   Mark Turner
Assistant Referees:  James Conlee, Patrick Burns
Fourth Official:   JP Rike
Attendance:   1,919
Weather:   Sunny, warm, 84˚
First Market Bank Man of the Match: Chris Carrieri