No lightning was visible in the rainy skies over City Stadium on Saturday night. At least, not until Richmond Kickers reserve forward Shaka Bangura struck again.
Bangura set up Matthew Delicate's 80th-minute goal to lift the high-flying Kickers to a 2-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Wilmington Hammerheads.
Bangura, a newcomer from Sierra Leone by way of Montreat College, was not out of character in this role. He has appeared in three matches, all as a second-half substitute, and has collected a pair of goals and a game-winning assist. He scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute of Richmond's victory over Charleston on April 23.
"He's a goal-scorer with explosive power and pace," said Kickers coach Leigh Cowlishaw. "We thought he'd be a different dimension — and a difficult dimension — for (Wilmington's) center defenders (in the second half)."
Bangura put all of his impressive wares on display in an electrifying 80th-minute dash along the far sideline. He maintained possession despite being jostled so emphatically that he stumbled and nearly fell. His deft pass to Delicate sent the Kickers' most lethal scorer in alone against Hammerheads goalkeeper Brock Duckworth. Delicate punched a 13-yarder past Duckworth for his fifth goal of the season.
The game-winning goal wasn't the Kickers' only bolt out of the blue — or in this case, out of the murky darkness — in Saturday's match. Richmond (6-0) was dominant in possession and chances created but had nothing to show for it until midfielder Gerson dos Santos pulled the trigger on a 35-yard blast from the right side in the 65th minute.
Duckworth, screened by friend and foe, reacted late. Dos Santos' shot burrowed into the net, erasing Wilmington's 1-0 lead. The Hammerheads (2-1) scored a picture-book goal in the third minute on Ivan Becerra's header off a free kick.
Late second-half magic notwithstanding, Cowlishaw said the Kickers "deserved the points" they earned from Saturday's triumph.
"After the first 10 minutes, basically it was one-way traffic," he said. "At halftime, we were a little bit annoyed, I think, that we'd made life difficult for ourselves."
Richmond, which played five of its first six matches at home, will play seven of its next eight — and its next three — on the road. The Kickers play Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Said Cowlishaw: "This team is built to play (on the large, lush City Stadium pitch). Now we're going to have to adjust both our style and our mentality" to play on fields that are smaller and, frequently, less meticulously groomed.
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Wilmington
1
0
—
1
Richmond
0
2
—
2
W: Becerra 1 (Spendlove), 3rd minute
R: Dos Santos 2, 65th minute; Delicate 5 (Bangura) 80th minute;
Shots: Richmond 9-8
Saves: Brock Duckworth (W) 3, Ronnie Pascale (R) 2
Records: Richmond 6-0; Wilmington 2-1
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