PROBABLY A GOOD THING KICKERS-CHARLOTTE GAME HAD NO PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS

Weekend Watch II … with III (and more) to come:

Your Richmond Kickers played their regular-season 

USL League One finale Saturday night already 

assured of finishing eighth. Win, lose or draw against 

sixth-place Charlotte, they knew they would take on 

No. l United Omaha in the playoffs … and it 

undoubtedly was a good thing the last of 22 games 

didn’t matter … or no telling what might have 

happened … none of it good, that’s for sure … 

Charlotte’s 1-0 victory ended its seven-game non-

winning streak as well as Richmond’s run of six 

games without a loss … on “Fan Appreciation 

Night” at City Stadium where more than 5,000 

customers were eligible for numerous giveaways ...

and left thinking the home side had this one taken 

away by referee JOHN MATTO … For all the calls 

and non-calls that drew never-ending complaints 

from both sides, the centerpiece of it all came in the 

41^st minute when Matto reduced the Kickers to 10 

players … handing midfielder DAKOTA 

BARNATHAN a red card for a violent tackle on

 OMAR CISS, 23, Independence middie from 

Dakar, Senegal … How violent was it? From replays 

seen on ESPN+ … Barnathan and Ciss had what 

normally would be described as “an awkward 

collision.” Neither had the ball. They ran into each 

other (sort of), and while Barnathan got up, ready to 

carry on, Ciss stayed down … as if badly injured … 

Matto, the presiding judge who was about 10 yards 

away, watching the whole thing, walked over to Ciss, 

writhing in apparent agony, and pulled the red card 

from his pocket … Naturally, the Kickers were 

stunned. Play resumed … with Ciss on his feet (of 

course) and playing. Still, it wasn’t until the 61^st

 minute that Charlotte was able to take advantage … 

when KHARLTON BELMAR sent a perfect pass to

 JUAN CARLOS OBREGON JR., who split the 

defense to walk in alone and beat Kickers’ 18 year 

old keeper JAMES SNEDDON for his 20^th goal 

(all competitions) and 15^th in USL League One.

Had you not been aware of Barnathan’s 

banishment, you would have been hard-pressed 

to distinguish which team was a man down. Or, for 

that matter, which had only nine on the field … after 

Richmond rookie LAMOND JOHNSON received 

two yellow cards after arriving as a reserve in the 

70^th minute. Matto handed Johnson a questionable 

caution for bumping into – yes, bumping – a 

Charlotte player. Then, five minutes later (in 

stoppage time), Johnson was sent off after keeping 

Obregon Jr., from another breakaway and potential 

goal … The Kickers (6W10L6T) forced 

Independence keeper MATT LEVY, in his 

first professional start, to make nine saves.

 CHANDLER O’DWYER had at least three 

potential goals stopped by Levy. In the final minute 

he barely got a piece of a shot from close range by

 NIL VINYALS … on a perfect feed from SIMON 

FITCH racing down the right side. A few minutes 

earlier, Levy soared to deflect a shot labeled goal by 

Fitch … whose late-season heroics at both ends of 

the field were well-documented … and probably 

pushed him over the finish line for 2024 team MVP 

honors.

When it was over, Kickers coach DARREN 

SAWATSKY’s laid back demeanor said all 

you needed to know about how unimportant the 

result was. Under different circumstances … well, 

just say he wouldn’t have been so generous about 

Matto’s work. “The officiating wasn’t what we 

needed it to be,” Sawatsky said, ...”but we created 

chances in the first 30 minutes to have some goals on 

the board … and we went down to nine [field 

players] and created a couple of chances to score … 

then down to eight and had a couple more. It bodes 

well for the playoffs. Let’s get it on!!”

LAST WORDS: LYAM MacKINNON, 25, of 

Greenville SC was USL League One winner of 

Golden Boot … with 16 goals (in 22 league games). 

Obregon Jr. (15) was runnerup … O’Dwyer led 

Kickers with six (8 in all competitions) … 

Handicapping the eight-team playoffs, the league 

website lists three reasons why Richmond can win it 

all ...1-PHYSICALITY … Kickers finished second 

in total fouls (308) … and their rough-house style 

“makes it difficult” for opponents who rely on 

“technical play.”… 2-AERIAL PROWESS … 

Kickers use their heads (literally) a lot. They were 

third in goals headed in (6) … which was more than 

any other team to qualify for post-season play … 3-

POSSESSION and PURPOSE. They had the ball 

52.6 percent of the time, also third best … As for 

reasons why the Kickers won’t win the 

championship … the writer noted the obvious … that 

they are No. 11 (of 12) in scoring and have 

demonstrated weaknesses in the defensive end as 

well … minus-9 overall … hardly a recipe for 

success … Of course, that was the season taken as a 

whole and not how Richmond played once Sneddon 

made his pro debut seven games ago ... going 

unbeaten 4-0-2 including three straight shutouts, 

tying a league record … and assuring a place in the 

playoffs, something it couldn’t do a season ago … 

By the way … did you know the Kickers were the 

only USL League One side not to be awarded a 

penalty kick this year? ... Richmond plays first post-

season match Sunday (Nov. 3) in Omaha, Neb. (3:30 

p.m., ESPN+).

Until next time ...