Written by Derek Robbie
Orlando, FL - Orlando City B faced off against Richmond early in the afternoon Thursday as the city prepped for the arrival of Hurricane Irma. Chances would come early on for both teams, but in the end it was a 2-0 loss for the Lions.
The match started with both Orlando City B and Richmond Kickers testing the waters by safely keeping possession of the ball to see what the other’s game plan was. The first chance of the match came in the 4th minute from a Richmond cross on the left flank, and the following shot tucked just wide by winger Luiz Fernando. After the Kickers’ first chance, they gained control of the game by keeping possession in their own attacking third.
OCB had their first chance come off of a counter-attack. In the 9th minute, Scott Thomsen crossed a ball from deep into the box, Hadji Barry got his head on the end of it, but Barry could not keep the ball from sailing over the crossbar.
The next chance of the match fell to OCB center back, Timbó in the 14th minute when he rifled a shot from over 40 yards out. Timbó’s effort was grasped easily by Richmond keeper, Travis Worra.
In the 18th minute of the match Richmond had some nice combination play down their left flank to give Luiz Fernando the space and time to send a cross inside the box. Though none of Fernando’s teammates could get on the end of his cross.
In the 24th minute OCB’s Zachary Ellis-Hayden got fouled about 30 yards from the end line. OCB played the free kick quickly to find Scott Thomsen who took the shot that went wide for a Richmond goal kick.
In the 29th minute, Kickers’ Oscar Umar lobbed a cross in from the right flank that bounced inside the 18, and forced OCB keeper to quickly dive to his right to make a reaction save.
Due to the heat and the match starting at 4:30 the referee stopped play for a water break in the 30th minute, and resumed play in the 34th.
In the 40th minute, Richmond earned themselves a free kick on the left side of the pitch. The free kick was served in by Sunny Jane to the back post where Mallan Roberts headed it back across the goal to find Mikey Minutillo who placed it in the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
In the 42nd minute Richmond found themselves passing all around OCB’s back line which eventually resulted in a Richmond free kick just outside the 18 on the semicircle. Richmond’s Sunny Jane placed his free kick perfectly in the left side of the goal to give his squad a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
At the end of the first half OCB had 44% possession with 4 total shots (1 on target), and Richmond Kickers had 56% possession with 4 total shots (2 on target).
The first five minutes of the second half started similarly to the first half, with both teams feeling each other out to see what their game plan going forward will be.
Richmond’s Luiz Fernando found space once again on the left flank in the 50th minute to send a cheeky cross into the box, which found its way to teammate Matthew Bolduc. Bolduc took the shot and it was blocked by an OCB defender.
OCB earned a free kick on the right side of the box in the 56th minute. Scott Thomsen whipped the ball into the area which worried Richmond goalie Travis Worra before he saw it wide. Following the free kick, the Lions kept applying pressure and creating chances. Their next chance fell in the 59th minute to Albert Dikwa who took a shot from 25 yards out that went well over the bar.
In the 70th, OCB’s Hadji Barry played the ball out wide to right back Zachary Ellis-Hayden who cut in on his left foot to curl a shot on target that was saved well by Richmond’s goalkeeper Travis Worra.
In the 75th minute the official stopped play for the second half water break with play resuming in the 77th.
After the water break, Orlando City B started playing much more open and aggressively in order to put Richmond on the back foot and create more chances. This change of game plan meant that OCB had more of the ball, but they were not creating the chances they needed to in order get back into the match.
In the final ten minutes of the match, Richmond stayed very compact defensively, allowing OCB to have possession, but keeping OCB from getting in behind their back line.
The match ended with OCB having 46% possession with 12 total shots (3 on target), and Richmond Kickers having 54% possession with 11 total shots (3 on target).
Losing this game ends Orlando City B’s impressive twelve game unbeaten run. When asked about the unbeaten run, head coach Anthony Pulis had this to say, “At some point it was going to come to an end. I was hoping it wasn’t going to come to an end, but it obviously has and we have to do are best to respond.”
Coach Pulis was also quite critical of his team’s performance. He said, “The biggest disappointment for me is the level of performance in the first 60 minutes, which was as poor as we’ve been since I have been in charge of the team. So, it was really disappointing.”
Based on coach Anthony Pulis’ post-match comments it will be intriguing how the team responds in their next game on Saturday, September 16 at 8:30 p.m. against Saint Louis Football Club.
Orlando City B XI: [G] Jake Fenlason; [D] Conor Donovan, Timbó, Kevin Alston, Zachary Ellis-Hayden; [M] Lewis Neal (C), Scott Thomsen, Austin Martz, Dany Deakin, Jordan Schweitzer; [F] Hadji Barry.
Richmond Kickers XI: [G] Travis Worra; [D] Mallan Roberts, Alex Lee, William Yomby (C), Braeden Troyer; [M] Yudai Imura, Oscar Umar, Luiz Fernando, Sunny Jane, Matthew Bolduc; [F] Mikey Minutillo.
The match started with both Orlando City B and Richmond Kickers testing the waters by safely keeping possession of the ball to see what the other’s game plan was. The first chance of the match came in the 4th minute from a Richmond cross on the left flank, and the following shot tucked just wide by winger Luiz Fernando. After the Kickers’ first chance, they gained control of the game by keeping possession in their own attacking third.
OCB had their first chance come off of a counter-attack. In the 9th minute, Scott Thomsen crossed a ball from deep into the box, Hadji Barry got his head on the end of it, but Barry could not keep the ball from sailing over the crossbar.
The next chance of the match fell to OCB center back, Timbó in the 14th minute when he rifled a shot from over 40 yards out. Timbó’s effort was grasped easily by Richmond keeper, Travis Worra.
In the 18th minute of the match Richmond had some nice combination play down their left flank to give Luiz Fernando the space and time to send a cross inside the box. Though none of Fernando’s teammates could get on the end of his cross.
In the 24th minute OCB’s Zachary Ellis-Hayden got fouled about 30 yards from the end line. OCB played the free kick quickly to find Scott Thomsen who took the shot that went wide for a Richmond goal kick.
In the 29th minute, Kickers’ Oscar Umar lobbed a cross in from the right flank that bounced inside the 18, and forced OCB keeper to quickly dive to his right to make a reaction save.
Due to the heat and the match starting at 4:30 the referee stopped play for a water break in the 30th minute, and resumed play in the 34th.
In the 40th minute, Richmond earned themselves a free kick on the left side of the pitch. The free kick was served in by Sunny Jane to the back post where Mallan Roberts headed it back across the goal to find Mikey Minutillo who placed it in the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
In the 42nd minute Richmond found themselves passing all around OCB’s back line which eventually resulted in a Richmond free kick just outside the 18 on the semicircle. Richmond’s Sunny Jane placed his free kick perfectly in the left side of the goal to give his squad a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
At the end of the first half OCB had 44% possession with 4 total shots (1 on target), and Richmond Kickers had 56% possession with 4 total shots (2 on target).
The first five minutes of the second half started similarly to the first half, with both teams feeling each other out to see what their game plan going forward will be.
Richmond’s Luiz Fernando found space once again on the left flank in the 50th minute to send a cheeky cross into the box, which found its way to teammate Matthew Bolduc. Bolduc took the shot and it was blocked by an OCB defender.
OCB earned a free kick on the right side of the box in the 56th minute. Scott Thomsen whipped the ball into the area which worried Richmond goalie Travis Worra before he saw it wide. Following the free kick, the Lions kept applying pressure and creating chances. Their next chance fell in the 59th minute to Albert Dikwa who took a shot from 25 yards out that went well over the bar.
In the 70th, OCB’s Hadji Barry played the ball out wide to right back Zachary Ellis-Hayden who cut in on his left foot to curl a shot on target that was saved well by Richmond’s goalkeeper Travis Worra.
In the 75th minute the official stopped play for the second half water break with play resuming in the 77th.
After the water break, Orlando City B started playing much more open and aggressively in order to put Richmond on the back foot and create more chances. This change of game plan meant that OCB had more of the ball, but they were not creating the chances they needed to in order get back into the match.
In the final ten minutes of the match, Richmond stayed very compact defensively, allowing OCB to have possession, but keeping OCB from getting in behind their back line.
The match ended with OCB having 46% possession with 12 total shots (3 on target), and Richmond Kickers having 54% possession with 11 total shots (3 on target).
Losing this game ends Orlando City B’s impressive twelve game unbeaten run. When asked about the unbeaten run, head coach Anthony Pulis had this to say, “At some point it was going to come to an end. I was hoping it wasn’t going to come to an end, but it obviously has and we have to do are best to respond.”
Coach Pulis was also quite critical of his team’s performance. He said, “The biggest disappointment for me is the level of performance in the first 60 minutes, which was as poor as we’ve been since I have been in charge of the team. So, it was really disappointing.”
Based on coach Anthony Pulis’ post-match comments it will be intriguing how the team responds in their next game on Saturday, September 16 at 8:30 p.m. against Saint Louis Football Club.
Orlando City B XI: [G] Jake Fenlason; [D] Conor Donovan, Timbó, Kevin Alston, Zachary Ellis-Hayden; [M] Lewis Neal (C), Scott Thomsen, Austin Martz, Dany Deakin, Jordan Schweitzer; [F] Hadji Barry.
Richmond Kickers XI: [G] Travis Worra; [D] Mallan Roberts, Alex Lee, William Yomby (C), Braeden Troyer; [M] Yudai Imura, Oscar Umar, Luiz Fernando, Sunny Jane, Matthew Bolduc; [F] Mikey Minutillo.