Richmond 0, Louisville 1

MATCH REPORT

Saturday, April 8        City Stadium 

Richmond Kickers       0    

Louisville City FC        1 (George Davis IV 81’)

RICHMOND, Va – (Saturday, April 8, 2017) – Former Kickers midfielder George Davis IV slotted a suspect penalty kick into the bottom right of Eric Klenofsky’s goal in the 81st minute to hand the Richmond Kickers their second straight 1-0 loss of the season. 

Louisville had the first scoring chance of the match in the 1st minute when former Kickers midfielder Davis IV drove down the right side, but his shot went just wide to the right.

Richmond’s first chance came in the 10th minute when Davis IV pushed down Fred Owusu Sekyere, setting up a free kick for Maxim Tissot. He found Mallan Roberts, but the header went wide right. 

Klenofsky had several diving saves in first half. Perhaps the most important one came in the 15th minute when Louisville captain Paolo DelPicollo found former Kickers midfielder Brian Ownby on the right side for a screaming shot that Klenofsky caught.

The Kickers’ best chance of the first half came after Samuel Asante was fouled in the 19th minute. Pat McCann took the free kick and shot it right at Louisville goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski who had to make a diving save.

Louisville had a great break in the 26th minute when Richard Ballard drove to the right of the box. He had Luke Spencer in the middle, but elected to take it himself, and shot wide to the right of the goal.

Maxim Tissot won a corner in first half stoppage time, which Fred Owusu Sekyere sent to the far post, finding Mallan Roberts for a header. However, the shot was wide right, ending the first half at 0-0.  

Louisville also had the first chance of the second half in the 48th minute when Richard Ballard drove down the middle of the field, only to have his shot blocked by Conor Shanosky.

They were at it again in the 56th minute when Ownby took a pass from Davis and shot it to the right of Klenofsky. The goalkeeper got a diving touch to the ball, but it went past him, off the left post and back into play.

Richmond would have the next chance less than a minute later when Fred Owusu Sekyere passed the ball to Mikey Minutillo on the left side, leading to a shot for Samuel Asante, but Sean Totsch blocked his shot. 

Klenofsky made yet another great save in the 76th minute off a Louisville corner. Niall McCabe sent a pass to Luke Spencer down the left side, where he won the set piece. Oscar Jimenez sent the ball to the near post where Sean Totsch bicycle kicked it, leading to Paolo DelPiccolo’s header. The ball looked to be in the goal, but Klenofsky had just caught it on the line. 

Richmond’s goalkeeper would not be so lucky four minutes later when Louisville won a contentious penalty kick. Another Oscar Jimenez corner settled to Mark-Anthony Kaye and Christopher Durkin went twisting in the air to block his shot. The ball struck Durkin’s hand, and referee Danielle Chesky pointed to the spot. 

Davis stepped up to the line and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of Klenofsky’s net for what would be the game winner. 

Louisville did not let up after the goal as Kaye drove the ball down the middle in the 87th minute and passed it to Niall McCabe, forcing Klenofsky to make another save. 

Richmond had one last chance in the 90th minute when speedster Luiz Fernando Nascimento found Oliver in the box. Despite being right in front of goal, Oliver’s shot went over the crossbar. 

Louisville City’s win improves their record to 2-1-0, tied atop the USL’s Eastern Conference with the Charleston Battery.

Richmond drops to 1-0-2, locked in a four-way tie for eighth place, but eight USL East teams are still yet to play a third game.

Louisville City returns to Louisville Slugger Field on Saturday April 15 for a matchup with the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m.

Richmond will remain at home as they face Ottawa Fury FC on Sat. April 15 at City Stadium at 5 p.m.

Lineups

Richmond: GK Eric Klenofsky, Mallan Roberts, Evan Lee (Oliver – 75’) Conor Shanosky, Maxim Tissot, Alex Lee, Pat McCann, Christopher Durkin, Fred Owusu Sekyere, Samuel Asante (Luiz Fernando Nascimento – 75’), Mikey Minutillo (Anthony Grant – 60’)

Louisville: GK Tim Dobrowolski, Oscar Jimenez, Tarek Morad, Sean Totsch, Kyle Smith, Speedy Williams (Guy Abend – 85’), Paolo DelPiccolo, Richard Ballard (Niall McCabe –- 71’), George Davis IV, Brian Ownby (Mark-Anthony Kaye – 77’), Luke Spencer

Scoring Summary

81st Minute: Louisville: George Davis IV (Penalty Kick)

Cautions:

10th Minute: Louisville: George Davis IV

25th Minute: Richmond: Evan Lee

44th Minute: Richmond: Alex Lee

Ejections:

None.

Referee: Danielle Chesky

Assistant Referees: Jusin Howard, Jordan Davis

Fourth Official: Max Smith

Attendance: 7603

Weather: Sunny, 63ºF