Richmond Kickers coach Leigh Cowlishaw was looking merely for survival. He found serendipity instead.
An improvised Richmond lineup produced an impressive 4-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in Tuesday night's U.S. Open Cup second-round match at City Stadium. Forwards David Bulow and Matthew Delicate, starting simultaneously for only the second time this season, scored two goals apiece for the Kickers. Their heroics lifted Richmond into next Tuesday's third-round road match against the Columbus Crew, an MLS team.
"We essentially have to change both our strategy and our formation to accommodate (Delicate and Bulow)," Cowlishaw said. "But that's one of the refreshing things about the Open Cup. It creates a lot of opportunities for a lot of players."
Cowlishaw said Tuesday's starting lineup, which included Bulow and Shaka Bangura, Richmond's most dangerous offensive reserves, was borne out of necessity.
"We're trying to cope with an insane number of games and road trips as well as numerous injuries," Cowlishaw said.
Bulow, meanwhile, is producing at an insane pace in Open Cup play. Tuesday's goals, both of which came in the first half, were his fourth and fifth of the 2011 tournament and the 12th and 13th of his Open Cup career. He is tied for first place on the Open Cup's pro-era goals list.
Bulow, a relentless attacker, wasted a gleaming opportunity in the 15th minute when he yanked a 15-yarder wide of the right-hand post. He soon corrected his aim. Bulow scored from the doorstep in the 17th minute. Unattended in front of the net, he accepted a fine crossing pass from Edson Elcock and chipped it up and over Pittsburgh goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap.
The Riverhounds tied the match in the 30th minute, but Bulow untied it soon thereafter. Kickers defender Sascha Gorres, an intuitive distributor, sent a long, low pass from the left side curling toward the threshold of the Pittsburgh goal. Bulow, charging in from the right side, met the ball in full stride and slammed it past Gilstrap in the 41st minute.
Delicate did his damage in the second half. He beat Gilstrap with a header from 14 yards in the 53rd minute and added an exclamation point to Richmond's win with a 20-yard blast in the 80th minute.
Bulow said he and Delicate are in no way incompatible.
"We get along really well and I think we work really well together," Bulow said. "We push each other really hard in training, but that's just because we're trying to bring out the best in one another."
He said there is no competition on game night.
"I don't care if it's Deli or me, as long as one of us gets it done," he said.
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