SOCCER, SOCCER ... NOTHING BUT SOCCER
Your offense-challenged Richmond Kickers got two first-half goals from NIL VINYALS ... and still had to settle for a 2-2 standoff with homestanding Charlotte Saturday night in a USL Jagermeister Cup match … A foul just outside the 18-yard box in the 90th minute gave Vinyals opportunity for a hat trick and game-winning goal … but his ensuing shot for the upper left-hand corner barely missed, going wide and high … The game did not count in the regular-season standings ... unfortunately for the Kickers which went a perfect 5-for-5 in the ensuing shootout that gave them an extra point in Jagermeister group play ... The PK final was 5-4, the only miss by Charlotte’s TRESOR MBUYU in the second round. In his fifth season with the Independence and team leading scorer each of the last two, the 5-10 striker from the Republic of Congo got too much foot under the ball, sending it so high over the goal that Kickers’ keeper PABLO PARA simply stood and watched … Neither Para nor Charlotte’s AUSTIN PACK made a save in the one-on-one penalty shootout … Coming on to start the second half, three-times league-leading scorer and MVP EMELIANO TERZAGHI made his fourth appearance of the season while playing the most minutes (54) since being sidelined with a leg injury a year ago. The Argentinian joined Kickers’ teammates Vinyals, JOAO GOMIERO, SIMON FITCH and CHANDLER O’DWYER for the perfect round of PKs before a very small crowd of less than 1,000. Pack never moved, guessing incorrectly that Terzaghi would come down the middle … Vinyals, first-team all-league and Kickers' MVP in 2023, scored in the 22d minute then less than a minute into first-half stoppage time … both responding to Charlotte leads … and both, struck from just outside the 18-yard box, were the result of shaky, irresponsible defense … The first was a weak, multi-hop bouncer that somehow eluded Pack. On the second, the Independence left a gapping path to the goal that the Spanish forward used for another rolling shot that found the net just missing the post to the goalie’s right. Again … Pack was slow to react … Kickers return to City Stadium Wednesday (8 p.m.) to meet Forward Madison FC. The match will be televised by the CBS Sports Network … Richmond is W5-T7-L6 in all competitions including 2-3-5 and 10th in league play. The Kickers have been shutout 8 times … scoring 22 goals … but five came in a U.S. Open Cup rout against an amateur side … They’ve managed more than two goals once in USL competition … a 3-2 victory over last-place Central Valley here April 6.
……. Had Portugal not pulled out a victory over
underdog Slovenia on penalty kicks Sunday no telling
how CRISTIANO RENALDO would have reacted …
retire, perhaps … In the twilight of his career, the one-
time scoring machine, still his national team’s go-to
player, had one of those games … that included a
missed PK in regulation that left him in tears (literally)
… The hero for the winners was DIOGO COSTA,
who stopped a breakaway in the 115th minute to keep
the score 0-0 then made three diving saves as Portugal
advanced to the semifinals of Europa 2024 with a 3-0
decision in the shootout.
……. Say adios and good-bye … and don’t let the door
hit you on the way out … to GREGG BERHALTER,
coach of the U.S. men’s national team that lost 1-0 to
Uruguay and, thereby, finished third in its group (of
four) to be ousted from Copa America … which some
experts – like former USMNT star turned TV wise
man ALEXI LALAS– thought was good enough to
win it all … “This was an opportunity for them to
prove a lot of doubters wrong,” Lalas said in a post-
game rant on Fox. “What we’ve learned [instead] is
that this team is not able to do anything better than it’s
done in the past … and that hurts to say … because
that’s not what was promised – and what we believed
would happen. If this is as good as it gets, it’s not good
enough.” … With the next World Cup coming to North
America (including the U.S.) in two years, Lalas
expressed concern that the USMNT was on track for
more disappointment despite having the resources to
succeed … “You need somebody to pull people
together,” … and Berhalter, because of the fact that he
has failed to some extent, is not giving people hope it
is heading in the right direction … and so he has
become incredibly polarizing. If they [U.S. Soccer
Federation] believe he is the right person, that is not
going to change ... When that whistle blows in the
summer of 2026, I want everybody in America …
whether they love soccer or not ... to say, ‘Hey, I’m on
board with this,’ and you need a leader to bring
everybody together … not divide them.”
Until next time ...
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