Two points stolen from DDL FC

Two points stolen from DDL FC

Referee gives Richmond unexplained penalty kick in last minute

 

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Dayton Dutch Lions FC and whole stadium with just over 1000 spectators was left frustrated and astonished when the referee blew the whistle for a penalty kick while a Richmond player kicked over the ball and fell himself but a penalty was called anyway leaving everyone surprised. David Bulow converted making it 1-1 keeping the Lions from their first victory of the season.

 

The Dutch Lions got a quick start out of the gate and scored early. In the second minute Gibson Bardsley (17) put his head on a cross from Joel DeLass (8) and scored. Probing offensive play by both teams continued as the Dutch Lions and the Kickers looked for opportunities to score. In the 17th minute the Kickers put a shot on goal that missed just high. Bardsley shot on goal again in the 30th minute but missed wide right. With ten minutes to play in the half, Richmond stepped up its attack and kept the Dutch Lions defense busy with mainly long balls but could not create any chances with he Lions back line well organized. Score at half, 1-0 Dutch Lions.

 

 

The Kickers came out strong in the second half, missing a header off a free kick in the first minute. With Richmond pressing more the Lions got more space for a break-away with the speed of Garner and Bardsley being used on the wings. Although the Lions were more and more struggling to play their passing game from the back and forced to play long. Coach Ivar van Dinteren substituted forward Bartels, the shielding player, for runner Holowatty counting on speed up front and a breakaway.

 

The Kickers tried pushing up players and although they had more possession they did not create a single chance the whole game besides perhaps a foul by Nixon Dias in the 86th minute which gave the Kickers a free kick just outside the box but the shot attempt went over the crossbar. But instead of a hard fought victory the Dutch Lions FC were left astonished in the second minute of stoppage time. A complete misskick in the box resulted in a penalty kick being granted to Richmond. Forward David Bulow converted the kick to equalize the score at 1-1.

 

Coach Ivar van Dinteren commented on the tie: “We got robbed of our first win tonight. No doubt about that. It is unbelievable how the referee called that a penalty kick. If you look in our locker room now you see a group that cannot grasp what just happened. I can only be proud of my guys because we did not give one chance away. This is very frustrating but I don’t want to focus on the referee. We have to built on today and we showed that we can play against any team and that we are hard to beat.”

 

The Dayton Dutch Lions FC record is now (0-2-2). Next Friday, May 11, they face the Los Angeles Blues (1-2-0) at Miami Valley South Stadium, starting at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the game and the season can be purchased at www.dutchlionsfc.com.