RICHMOND, Va. (October 1, 2017) – In its final road match of the 2017 regular season, Orlando City B (10-8-12, 42 points) picked up a 1-0 win over the Richmond Kickers (7-15-8, 29 points) on Sunday at City Stadium. Hadji Barry scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute on an assist from Michael Cox as OCB picked up its 11th shutout of the year.
“It’s a great road performance from the guys. I thought the first half was a little bit scrappy, a little bit stop-start, but then [in the] second half I thought we controlled the game for long stretches,” OCB head coach Anthony Pulis said. “Our movement was good; the quality of the passing was good and I felt like there was only one team that could’ve gone on and won it. Thankfully Hadji finished off a great move to score his goal and we defended really well at the end to get a fantastic shutout. This isn’t an easy place to come. Now the focus shifts to making sure the guys recover properly and get ready for what’s going to be a massive game next Saturday against Red Bulls II.”
Pulis inserted Cox into the match in the 77th minute and the Canadian immediately changed the complexion of the Lions attack. Just three minutes later, Cox earned the game-winning assist when he raced up the right wing and slid the ball in for Barry, who turned and fired past Richmond goalkeeper Travis Worra. The assist was Cox’s second of the season and Barry’s team-leading ninth goal.
OCB mostly held Richmond at bay but goalkeeper Jake Fenlason, who made his sixth consecutive start, was called upon to make three saves to earn his second clean sheet of the season. The former Akron Zip's best save came in first-half stoppage time when Richmond’s Sunny Jane curled a free kick from 24 yards over the wall for the far post, but Fenlason dove chest-high through the air to parry it out.
Richmond was reduced to 10 men in the 90th minute when Oscar Umar was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Tony Rocha.
OCB finishes the season series 2-1-0 against Richmond, including two wins at City Stadium. OCB’s 10th win of the season surpasses its nine wins in its 2016 inaugural season.
In addition to Barry and Rocha, First Teamers Kevin Alston, Conor Donovan and Pierre Da Silva were in the starting XI. First Team Homegrown goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar was the backup for the fourth consecutive match.
The win bumps OCB into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind sixth-place FC Cincinnati and two ahead of ninth-place Bethlehem, with two games remaining.
The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7 to host the defending champion New York Red Bulls II at 7:30 p.m. ET. OCB then closes out its 2017 regular season on Thursday, Oct. 12, when the I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay Rowdies visit Orlando City Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
OCB - Hadji Barry (Michael Cox) 80’
Misconduct Summary:
RIC - Sunny Jane (Yellow Card) 24’
RIC - William Yomby (Yellow Card) 40’
OCB - Tony Rocha (Yellow Card) 45’
RIC - Luiz Fernando (Yellow Card) 45+2’
RIC - Oscar Umar (Red Card) 90’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City B - GK Jake Fenlason, D Kevin Alston, Conor Donovan, Zach Carroll, Austin Martz, M Tony Rocha, Jordan Schweitzer, Pierre Da Silva (Timbó 87’), ⓒ Lewis Neal, Danny Deakin (Michael Cox 77’), F Hadji Barry
Unused Substitutes: GK Mason Stajduhar, D Scott Thomsen, M Paul Clowes, F Ben Polk, Albert Dikwa, Michael Cox
Richmond Kickers - GK Travis Worra, D ⓒ William Yomby, Mallan Roberts, Alex Lee, M Oscar Umar, Yudai Imura, Sunny Jane (Jackson Eskay 79’), Raul Gonzalez, F Luiz Fernando (Owusu Sekyere 69’), Matt Bolduc, Oliver Minatel (Mikey Minutillo 19’)
Unused Substitutes: GK Marcel DeBellis, D Evan Lee, Conor Shanosky, M Patrick McCann
Details of the Game:
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: Oct. 1, 2017
Attendance: 6,581
Stats:
Possession:
OCB - 55 %
RIC - 45 %
Shots:
OCB - 10
RIC - 12
Saves:
OCB - 3
RIC - 2
Corners:
OCB - 4
RIC - 6
Fouls:
OCB - 14
RIC - 14
