Richmond lived up to the hype in both match day experience and on field performance.

IT’S NO SECRET I’M A RICHMOND KICKERS FAN, even though I write about the league in general. I try to be as impartial as possible when it comes to writing about the Kickers, even when it pains me to bring up the negative.

This is a different type of report though. For one, it’s about the Kickers and it’s overwhelmingly positive. But it’s also me freeing myself to write a view through the eyes of a Richmond Kickers fan, attending one of the best matches in the recent history of the team.

For this story, and probably this story only, the mask is off.

Leaning Into It

A while back, the league announced that this match would be one of several this season to appear on CBS Sports Network. This is a channel included in most cable packages, and available to subscribers of Paramount+. The league and the team tossed around the phrase “nationally televised” when hyping the match.

The league, teams and CBS also leaned heavily into the legends behind the derby, a bet started between two fans and media figures, Elliot Barr of Richmond and Kyle Carr of Madison. This was much different than in years past when the league wasn’t aware of the growing rivalry, then ignored it, and then fumbled its takes when it tried to get in on the action.

Last Summer, with the powers that be dropping the ball, Dan Vaughn at Protagonist Soccer wrote what continues to be the definitive written piece on the rivalry. Check that out for the full backstory.

This year, there seemed to be an effort by the league and the broadcast partner to make things right. Barr and Carr both appeared on CBS Golazo earlier this week to discuss the rivalry and their experiences. Both have been prominently featured, not just as faces, but with stories and personalities put front and center.

As for the match itself? Leading up to it, Madison had not lost in the regular season, and was second in the table. They were coming off a Jägermeister Cup loss, but were still heavily favored coming into Richmond.

The Kickers were coming off a win in penalties in a Cup match against Charlotte, but sat in 10th place in the regular season table. Still, it felt like Richmond had a bit of momentum, with striker Emiliano Terzaghi expected to be closer to 100% after a long injury and easing back into the roster over the last few weeks.

Match Day Buzz: A Sea of Red With a Splash of Henny

Leading up to the match, there was still speculation on attendance. It was the start of a holiday weekend, and fireworks were not on the agenda this year due to neighborhood concerns. The team heavily promoted the match, offering discounted ticket options and a promotion to give away 2,500 free t-shirts at the gate. Would it pay off?

As we arrived for pre-match hangouts with the River City Red Army in the parking lot around 5:45 PM, 45 minutes before the doors opened, we noticed the lots looking a lot more full than usual for the time. The Red Army’s gathering was also a bit more well attended than usual.

There was a spread of chips, cookies, empanadas, chicken wings, sausages, salt potatoes and chicken legs, labeled “roasted flamingo.” Beverages of all kinds were available, and this may or may not have included a bit of a certain brown liquid from which the derby derives its name.

Over the next hour, the gathering became quite large. Some traveling fans of Forward Madison showed up and were welcomed, including members of Featherstone Flamingos, derby trophy in hand.

Doing an informal survey of some fellow Kickers fans, the attitude towards the match result ranged from pragmatic to negative. I did not find a fan who predicted a win, just predictions of draws and losses. But everyone was ready to cheer on the team.

As I was preparing to leave the lot to head to the match, Kickers President Rob Ukrop showed up with USL League One President Lee O’Neill. It was the first match visit to Richmond from a league higher-up, and he couldn’t have picked a better one.

(Side note: O’Neill said to expect some more expansion news in the next few weeks. Of course I had to ask!)

I also met several of the Protagonist Soccer crew, in town to cover the match. Dan Creel and Dan Vaughn, who have their hands in just about everything lower-league soccer related, came to the gathering to document the buzz, do a few interviews and meet a few people before heading in to cover the match.

Match Experience: Where Has This Team Been?

I arrived to the gate as the team was down to its last pile of Large, XL and 2XL promotional t-shirts. I grabbed one, and headed to one of our usual spots, the front row, one section over from the Red Army. Sometimes we stand with the Red Army, but my partner has some health issues and when the temperature is hot, prefers to sit in a nice comfy portable seat back. I’m not going to lie, I’ve grown accustomed to the matching seat back she got me. Don’t hate.

The stands were filling up quickly even during warmups, likely due to the t-shirt promotion. All signs were pointing towards this match being close to a 6,000 capacity sellout (last year’s derby drew just under 4,000). Indeed, later on in the match, it would be announced at 5,574.

As the Red Army filed in, a steady drumbeat could be heard throughout the stadium. At kickoff, the stands seemed nearly full except for some scattered empty spots on the far fringes. With a full stadium of mostly red-clad fans as the backdrop, this was going to look good on national television. The promotions seem to have been a success.

Richmond came out swinging, looking like an entirely different team than the fans have been used to this season. Defense was shutting down Madison’s best-in-the-league offense, led by starting striker Christian Chaney. Richmond keeper Pablo Jara made a save in the 5th minute on a Derek Gebhard shot, and Bernd Schipmann made an easy save on an Adrian Billhardt shot in the 22nd.

It just following Billhardt’s shot that led to the one thing Richmond fans have been missing since last Summer: an Emiliano Terzaghi goal.

Richmond’s Toni Pineda forced a turnover on Madison’s Stephen Payne, feeding the ball to Terzaghi, to Nil Vinyals, and to Billhardt waiting in the box. Noticing a wide-open Terzaghi, Billhardt fed the ball to the striker at the top of the box who launched a left-footed shot past a diving Shipmann.

“And the crowd goes wild” doesn’t even begin to describe the atmosphere across City Stadium, especially in the Red Army’s “Section O.” With the goal scored on the same side as this section, the team rushed towards the supporter group, receiving hugs, high fives and cheers.

Terzaghi paused to relish the moment, alone in the red smoke, as if to say “I’m back.”

As the half progressed, Billhardt had a second shot saved by Schipmann, followed by a deflected shot just wide by Maxi Schenfeld. Dakota Barnathan would add another shot late in the half. As halftime began, many of us in the crowd were left in awe, asking each other “where has this team been all season?”

Leading 1-0, Richmond fell into a defensive stance for most of the second half, causing a bit of concern in the stands. Many of us know that it is exceedingly difficult to defeat a team like Madison that way.

Richmond held on though, including a spectacular save by Jara on a Chaney-assisted Gebhard shot.

As if to drive home the point that they have the superior roster, Madison coach Matt Glaeser sent some big guns he had warming up from the bench. In the 71st minute, he replaced Stephen Payne, Gebhard and a visibly frustrated Chaney with Cherif Dieye, Wolfgang Prentice and Juan Galindrez. All three of these substitutes have starting minutes this season and/or last season, with 4 goals and 5 assists between them.

Indeed, it was Galindrez who came through for Madison just before stoppage time was announced at eight minutes. Agustín Dávilla, taking his third corner kick of the half (the first two curved over the net out of bounds), from a hostile spot in front of the Red Army, found the head of Galindrez who deflected the ball into the net.

A Madison celebration took place at the same corner, right in front of a pissed off Red Army. Relishing in the disappointment they had just delivered to the home crowd, Madison players held an extended party in this area of the field, and Galindrez removed his shirt and took the yellow card as he walked back to the center of the pitch.

(Was this celebration the cause of what happened next? People are saying…)

As the match resumed, in stoppage time, there were eight further stoppages in play for fouls, including three yellow cards. Add these stoppages onto the the celebration and restart of play that bled into the originally announced eight minutes, does it all add up to the additional minutes granted beyond the initial eight minutes? Ask any Richmond fan and they’ll say yes, and Madison fans will say “bullshit!”

In any case, it was that final foul committed by Madison’s Timmy Mehl which set up Vinyals to take the set piece. The ball sailed into the box where a mass of players were waiting for what would likely be the final play of the match. The ball found both Chandler O’Dwyer and Arthur Bosua jumping in the air, and deflected off O’Dwyer’s head into the net.

If the first-half goal was wild, this one was absolute bedlam. The stadium was louder than I’ve ever heard it, fans were jumping up and down, screaming, hugging, falling over each other. It felt like we had just won a national championship. The celebrations in the stands continued as the final whistle blew just seconds after kickoff.

As the goal took place at the opposite end of the field from the Red Army, the lone Kicker still in the back half of the pitch was Pablo Jara. The goalkeeper ran towards the section and dramatically kicked the corner flag pole, sending it flying towards a journalist documenting the whole thing. Luckily the journalists were professionals and kept shooting, capturing some epic photos like the one above.

Post Match Experience: Overjoyed and in Disbelief

As they do every match, the players started with the Red Army, and went down the line, high fiving, fist bumping, hugging, signing autographs, posing for pictures. Only this time, it was an occasion of total joy.

In Richmond over the last two years, we haven’t seen as many wins as we used to. Nevertheless, most if not all of the players will still go through this ritual, thanking the fans for coming. It’s obvious and understandable that sometimes, some of them aren’t feeling it because of that night’s performance on the field. But not on this night.

April Kigeya, co-founder of Featherstone Flamingos and the keeper of the trophy for this match, brought it over to Elliot Barr to complete the handoff. With a draw and a Richmond win, the trophy now belongs to Richmond and Barr. Several players posed for photos with the trophy.

As we filed out of the stadium, I ran into USL League One President Lee O’Neill again, and thanked him for coming. He asked me if this electric atmosphere was normal, and I said, yes. Only it’s better when we beat Madison.

Up Next for The Kickers

It’s a nice ten-day break for the team, and I’m sure a few of them are taking advantage of it and getting away this weekend for some much deserved relaxation. They’ll be back in action on Saturday, July 13th at Chattanooga, a regular season match.

Richmond currently sits at 8th place in the table, a position that will not last through the weekend, with 9th and 10th place Spokane and Chattanooga facing each other on Saturday. A Spokane win or draw would see that side swap places with Richmond, while a Chattanooga win would push that side to 8th, Richmond to 9th and Spokane to 10th.

Editor’s Note: this story was originally published by the author at Beyondthe90.net on July 5th, 2024.