The Charleston Battery beat the Richmond Kickers tonight by a goal to none in a game played at U of R Stadium in Richmond. 515 fans braved wet conditions as John Jones scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute. The Battery improves...
The Charleston Battery beat the Richmond Kickers tonight (Wednesday, August 28, 2002) by a goal to none in a game played at U of R Stadium in Richmond. 515 fans braved wet conditions as John Jones scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute. The Battery improves to 18-3-6, 85 points and remains in first position in the Eastern Conference and the Southeast Division; Charleston clinched both the Conference and the Division last weekend. The Kickers end their regular season with a record of 13-9-6, 65 points. |
Despite the rain both teams attacked from the start. In the 10th minute defender Kyle Swords shot wide of the target from just outside the box. Five minutes later Matt Farris also narrowly missed, skewing the ball past the near post with a left foot strike. |
Richmond almost took the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first period. Goalkeeper Dusty Hudock cleared the ball but it fell straight to Kickers defender, Kevin Knight. With Hudock out of position Knight just needed to get the ball on target to score but his 35 yard effort missed by some distance. |
With the wind and rain at their backs after the break Charleston enjoyed longer spells of possession. Richmond also had its chances. Hudock twice stopped hard shots midway through the period. |
Finally, in the 77th minute Charleston took the lead. |
Matt Farris swung in a free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box. Defender, Mark Watson slipped the ball past several defenders into the middle of the penalty area. As Richmond scrambled to clear the ball John Jones stepped up and lashed it into the goal. |
The win was the Battery’s 10th road victory of the season, and it was also Hudock’s league-leading 13th shutout of the year. |
Text from the Wayback Machine. |