Saturday, May 5, 2012
DAYTON, Ohio -- The Dayton Dutch Lions FC were denied their first victory of the season as a late penalty by the Richmond Kickers resulted in a 1-1 draw at Miami Valley South Stadium on Saturday night. Richmond's David Bulow converted the stoppage-time penalty after Gibson Bardsley had give the Dutch Lions an early lead.
"I can only be proud of my guys because we did not give one chance away," Dutch Lions coach Ivar van Dinteren said. "We have to build on today, and we showed that we can play against any team and that we are hard to beat.”
The Dutch Lions (0-2-2) got a quick start out of the gate and scored in the second minute as Gibson Bardsley headed home a cross from Joel DeLass for the Dutch Lions' first goal of the season. Both teams continued to probe for a opening, and in the 17th minute the Kickers fired a shot on goal that missed high. Bardsley also had a chance to double the Dutch Lions' lead in the 30th minute, but his shot went wide of the right post, and Dayton had to settle for a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Kickers (1-2-2) came out strongly in the second half, coming close to tying the game within a minute of the restart. With Richmond pressing more, the Dutch Lions got more space on the counter-attack with the speed of Eli Garner and Bardsley being used on the wings. The Kickers' pressure meant the Dutch Lions were having difficulty playing their passing game from the back, resulting in more long balls upfield, and the Dutch Lions adjusted accordingly as Daniel Holowaty was brought on for Gerrit Bartels.
The Kickers tried pushing up players and although they had more possession they were unable to create much in the way of clear-cut chances. Their best opportunity came on a shot that went over the crossbar off a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 86th minute, but then in the second minute of stoppage time the referee saw a foul in the penalty area and pointed to the spot, allowing Bulow to score his first goal of the season and grab his side a point.
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC next host the Los Angeles Blues next Friday at Miami Valley South Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the game and the season can be purchased at www.dutchlionsfc.com.
