With three games remaining in the regular season, Crystal Palace Baltimore's hopes for a playoff spot in USL-2 seem to be slipping away just slightly. On Saturday night at UMBC Stadium, the Eagles dropped their third league match out of the last four, losing to the Richmond Kickers by a score of 2-1.
Richmond put the pressure on Baltimore goalkeeper Brian Rowland early on in the contest, forcing him to make three crucial saves to prevent the Kickers from drawing first blood on the scoreboard. Sensing that their team was being outhustled to the ball, managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski made a early substitution in the 31st minute, sending Val Teixeira in for Kevin Gnatiko. Shortly thereafter, Bryan Harkin picked up the first yellow card of the match for Palace.
The Kickers continued with their physical mentality, ultimately earning them a yellow card as well, as Mike Burke found his name in the referee's book. Richmond changed the look of their squad seven minutes from the half, as Kelvin Jones replaced defender Sasha Gorres. Although changes were made to both sides, neither one could find the net in the first half. Richmond sailed three of their six first half shots off target, while Palace failed to connect on any of their four attempts.
The beginning of the second half saw the Kickers make a second lineup change, as Ben Hunter was substituted for Joey Worthen. Worthen would make his presence felt 16 minutes into the half, as he directed a Mike Burke corner kick with his head past Rowland to open up the scoring for the visitors. Dangerous forward Matt Delicate would pot his tenth goal of the season in the 76th minute, as a Palace turnover in midfield eventually found its way to the head of the 6'3" native of Kent, England, who headed the ball past the stranded Baltimore netminder.
Baltimore, who only made two substitutions during the course of the match, seemed to rely on their big guns to help them claw their way back into the match. Their answer finally came with just two minutes to play in regulation, as Jordan Seabrook scored his third goal of the season to trim the Richmond lead to 2-1.
The loss sees Palace remain at fifth place in the standings, tied with Real Maryland on 21 points. The last three games of the season will be crucial tests. Palace's last home match of the season comes against 6th place Charlotte on July 25 at UMBC Stadium, followed by two road games against the two Pennsylvania clubs, Harrisburg (August 7) and Pittsburgh (August 15).
Note: The standings were correct at press time, but are subject to change, as the score of the Real Maryland/Charlotte game was not yet posted.
Team Statistics:
Shots: RIC 13, CPB 10; Saves: RIC 3, CPB 4; Fouls: RIC 11, CPB 10; Offsides: RIC 1, CPB 2; Corners: RIC 5, CPB 4.
Individual Leaders:
RIC- Goals: Worthen, Delicate; Assists: Burke; Shots: Burke, Delicate, Bulow (3 each); Fouls: Kalungi, Hunter, Bumbut (2 each).
CPB- Goals: Seabrook; Assists: none; Shots: Healey, Teixeira (3 each); Fouls: Lader (3).
Attendance: 567.
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