ARLINGTON, Texas — Ivan Magalhães’ 95th minute walk-off goal sealed the Richmond Kickers’ (10-8-7) resilient comeback victory in Arlington, Texas against North Texas SC (8-8-9) as the Reds scored two unanswered to complete their first double over the MLS affiliate and vault the team into fourth place in the USL League One Standings.
The match in Choctaw Stadium was underway as Richmond faced North Texas for the second match of the season. In the 9th minute, North Texas made a cutting run into Richmond territory and took a shot from outside of the box, but Akira Fitzgerald reacted quickly and got behind the shot to deflect it away from goal.
Later in the 18th minute, Edwin Munjoma was running at goal after being freed from a wide through-pass infield. Matt Bolduc shifted gears and sprinted from the middle of the pitch to make a heroic tackle to quell the attack from North Texas and win possession back.
At the 29-minute-mark, North Texas was on the offensive, and Kalil ElMedkhar found space in the box to shoot on goal, Fitzgerald blocked the shot at the near post, but the ball deflected back into the box and North Texas took another shot at the open goal. Jalen Crisler’s positional awareness was superb and the defender made a goalline clearance with a strong header to clear the ball out of danger.
Shortly after, in the 33rd minute, Blaine Ferri lobbed a curling ball into the box as Gibran Rayo made his run into the box and took a quick shot on goal after a good first touch. Fitzgerald stretched wide but the goal found its way into the back of the net, bringing North Texas to 1-0.
Quickly after the North Texas goal, Richmond responded with an explosive attack. Nil Vinyals received the ball at the edge of the box, he spun once to avoid two North Texas defenders, then spun back the other way freeing himself from a third defender and finding some space to find an outlet. Jonathan Bolanos made an incisive run from the left wing cutting inside. Vinyals, with the outside of his foot, passed the ball through several North Texas players, finding Bolanos who took a shot that unfortunately bounced off the side of the post.
With Oalex Anderson coming into the match as a halftime substitute, Richmond introduced a new wrinkle on the right side of the attack. The two sides exchanged bouts of possession for the next 15 minutes with Richmond trying to attack in numbers and North Texas looking for an insurance goal to secure their first-half lead.
In the 70th minute, Richmond had a free kick near the half-line. Vinyals, standing over the kick, sent a curling ball into the North Texas box to Bolanos who beat his mark and got his head to the ball but the attempt went just wide of the goal.
With time winding down, the clock entering the final 10 minutes of the match, Richmond was on the attack, and a misplaced clearance from North Texas found Moran in stride. The Argentine found himself with space to shoot and perfectly placed a shot into the upper 90 with his first touch, beating Richard Sanchez for a screamer of a goal, and earning his first goal of the season to bring the scoreline level at 1-1.
The fourth official indicated six minutes of stoppage time and, with both teams looking to earn the full three points from the outing, neither team was willing to settle for the safe result. Late into stoppage time, 95 minutes into the match, Vinyals delivered a set piece directly into the North Texas six-yard box. Ivan Magalhães muscled his way through the North Texas box, beat his marker and sent a thunderous header into the back of the net giving Richmond another dramatic, go-ahead goal.
With the sound of the final whistle, Richmond pulled off their fourth straight win in a row, earning another three points and continuing their push to secure a spot in the playoffs. With the win over North Texas, Richmond is in fourth place, three points ahead of fifth-place New England Revolution II and just one point below third-place Greenville Triumph.
The win also marks the first time that the Kickers have swept their season series with North Texas SC after previously earning their first win over the former league-winners in July 2021.
Richmond will relish the opportunity to return home for their final regular-season match of 2021 at City Stadium to host Henny Derby-rivals, Forward Madison, for the fourth and final matchup of the season, October 16. Kickoff for the match is set for 6:30 p.m.
Stay up to date with the latest news from the Kickers at www.richmondkickers.com and on the official team app.
BOX SCORE
|
First Half |
Second Half |
Final |
|
|
Richmond |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
North Texas SC |
1 |
0 |
1 |
LINEUPS
Richmond: Akira Fitzgerald, Jalen Crisler (78’ – Nathan Aune), Chris Cole, Esteban Calvo (85’ – Juan Pablo Monticelli), Ivan Magalhães, Matt Bolduc (45’ – Oalex Anderson), Zaca Morán (85’ – Victor Falck), Nil Vinyals, Ethan Bryant, Jonathan Bolanos (85’ – Luke Pavone), Emiliano Terzaghi
Unused Substitutes: Austin Causey, Hernán González
North Texas: Richard Sánchez, Nkosi Burgess, Collin Smith, Edwin Munjoma, Lucão (74’ – Mark Salas), Kazu (57’ – Derek Waldeck), Jorge Almaguer(87’ – Bernard Kamungo), Blaine Ferri (87’ – Hope Avayevu), Dominick Hernandez, Kalil ElMedkhar, Gibran Rayo (74’ – Michael Maldonado)
Unused Substitutes: Antonio Carrera, Devin Benton
STATISTICS
|
Shots |
Saves |
Fouls |
Corners |
|
|
Richmond |
10 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
|
North Texas |
21 |
2 |
14 |
6 |
SCORING SUMMARY
|
33’ 81’ 90’+5 |
NTX RIC RIC |
Ferri Moran Magalhães |
CAUTIONS SUMMARY
|
47’ 48’ 63’ 80’ |
RIC RIC NTX NTX |
Calvo Magalhaes Lucão Munjoma |
EJECTIONS SUMMARY
None
MATCH INFORMATION
Referee: Esad Omanovic
Asst. Referee: N/A
Fourth Official: N/A
Attendance: N/A
Weather: Windy, 75 ºF
