Richmond Kickers:
This Season: The Kickers won their first 3 matches to put themselves at the top of the USL Pro table with 9 points. The Kickers three wins haven't been jokes either. They've defeated Orlando City 2-0, Pittsburgh 2-1, and Rochester 1-0. That is one of the toughest stretches they could face all season, and having Charleston come to town will only add to the difficulty.
Who's Playing Big: The Kickers have been lead by Matthew Delicate who has scored a goal in every match for the Kickers this year, and is making a case for USL Pro Player of the Year. The whole back line has been playing great as well. They've only given up 1 goal in their three matches.
Who Needs to Step Up: Honestly the whole Richmond squad is playing up to standard. If Delicate keeps scoring goals at the pace he is, and the back holds up well, we should see Richmond challenging for the USL Pro Championship.
What to Expect:
Charleston, as last they did last week, will come out in a 4-4-2. Here's my Starting XI:
Dykstra
Marples Wilson Zaher Falvey
Mack Peverley Paterson Armstrong
Coleman Bah
Despite the awful goal he gave up last week, we should see Dykstra in goal again. Wiggans might not get a lot of playing time this year, because Dykstra has been playing well besides a couple of moments.
The back shouldn't change as all, and this 4 is playing very well. Marples, Wilson, and Zaher all played solidly last week, and should be returning to the starting eleven. Falvey played great, and got forward enough so to get a crucial goal.
In the midfield we should see our strongest line up yet. Armstrong should return to the field after having last week off, and Peverley and Mack should also get starts after solid performances last week. Paterson should get the start as well, as I think he has had two straight good performances, including his man of the match performance last week.
Up front we should see Levi Coleman for the 3rd time, but hopefully they'll let him play a little more. He should be getting at least 80 minutes a match, if not the full 90. I think that we should see Seedy Bah get another chance after last week. He didn't really get a chance to show off his speed and ability to connect with long balls because of last week's terrible conditions up in Dayton.
Richmond should come out in 4-4-2. Here is a possible line up:
Pascale
William Kalungi Gorres Vercollone
Nyazamba Callahan Dos Santos Heins
Delicate Elcock
Richmond is a solid team. The back is solid, the midfield is solid, the front is solid, this is just a good team. Charleston will have trouble picking apart the back line of Richmond, but the main key to the game will be to keep control of Delicate. He's Richmond's biggest scorer so far, and if the Battery can stop him along with Elcock, they will have a chance of coming away from this match with some points.
For more information on Richmond and their roster, check this.
These two teams are most likely the best in the league. If both teams play up to their potential, we should be seeing one of the best games of the year here.
This game will not be on USL Live, but it will be on the radio on 1340 AM in the Charleston area, or on the Battery's website.
Since this game is not going to be live on video, I won't be able to write as good of a recap as I have been. So I'll give you all a recap after the match, but it won't be as in depth.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog.@gmail.com
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