RICHMOND — Lionsbridge FC stepped onto the professional stage for the first time in club history at Richmond’s City Stadium and came away with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against USL League One’s Richmond Kickers on Wednesday night.
The Bridge struck first in the first 31st minute via a Sam Hall penalty. Christian Hatley drew the penalty with a nifty 1v1 move inside the box and was tripped up by a Kickers defender. Hall’s penalty kick was his 18th career goal in a Lionsbridge shirt, tying him for the most all-time goals in LBFC history with Charles Touche (2020-21).
Lionsbridge appeared poised to double its lead when Claudel N’goubou was dragged down just inside the penalty box in the 51st minute. However, the foul was ruled outside the box, and Lionsbridge did not capitalize on the set piece. Moments later, Richmond leveled the score on a counter-attack.
Hundreds of Lionsbridge fans made the short trip up I-64 to see Lionsbridge’s first-ever game against a professional opponent in a professional stadium. A sizable portion of the fans in attendance wore LBFC blue and white. The Kickers’ Red Army Supporter Group noted on Twitter that they were “out-tailgated” by the Lionsbridge supporter group, Defenders of the Bridge.
The game was physical and chippy at times, with players from both teams exchanging hard tackles and yellow cards. It was the first meeting between the clubs in five years. Lionsbridge showcased the majority of its roster, with 23 players getting into the action.
Temperatures soared during the day, reaching a high of 100 degrees in Richmond during the afternoon, but it became slightly more comfortable at 90 degrees by kickoff.
Lionsbridge returns to action at home at beautiful TowneBank Stadium, where they will play their next three games, including one final friendly this Saturday against Ole Sporting FC to close out the June slate.
Only four USL League Two regular season games remain with Lionsbridge tied for first place with Virginia Beach United through the games on June 26.
