Spokane Velocity FC needed only four minutes to give its sold-out crowd of 5,086 at ONE Spokane Stadium their first goal. Midfielder Jack Denton delivered a pass down the right wing to defender Romain Métanire, the game’s “man of the match,” who dribbled into open space before scoring on a shot that sailed over the outstretched hands of Richmond Kickers’ goalkeeper Pablo Jara.
Métanire’s goal helped jumpstart Velocity FC’s offense en route to a 2-1 victory in its first-ever home match on Saturday.
“Every game that we win is massively important, not just for us, but for the fans,” said Velocity FC head coach Leigh Veidman. “Richmond’s a very good team — very tough defensively, so today was a real test for us in terms of how we’re going to handle this type of team.”
Velocity FC’s early scoring spree continued in the 15th minute when attacking midfielder Luis Gil delivered a perfectly placed corner kick that found Ahmed Longmire, who rose above his defender and used his head to redirect the ball into the net.
“We’ve actually been working on that type of play for the last couple of weeks now,” Longmire said of his connection with Gil. “I’m just happy that we were finally able to get it off. It was a beautiful ball by Luis.”
The Kickers gathered some momentum and strung together a series of attacks on the wings. A long throw-in from the left side of the pitch was sent into the box. Despite Velocity FC’s attempt to clear the ball, it was recovered by Richmond’s Adrian Billhardt, who drilled a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Both teams continued setting up scoring chances, but nothing found the back of the net before halftime, which ended with a one-goal advantage for Velocity FC.
For the better part of the second half, Velocity FC seemed content with letting Richmond dominate possession. This strategy paid off as the Kickers maintained control of the ball for 57% of the match, but only had two shots on target the whole game with both of them coming in the first half
With Richmond trying to tie things up, Velocity FC goalkeeper Carlos Merancio faced constant pressure near the end of the game. To make matters worse for Merancio, the officials added seven minutes of stoppage time — met with a loud groan from the crowd.
“If you want to win, you’re gonna suffer at some point,” Merancio said of handling Richmond’s aggressiveness in the final seven minutes. “Everyone was trying to do their best to get the result. I’m proud of the whole team.”
It was a stunning scene for Velocity FC’s first-ever home match with an energetic crowd ready for professional soccer, basking in the spring’s first warm, sunny day in the mid-60s. When the final whistle sounded, players and coaches walked over to the sideline to celebrate with the fans including high fives and fist bumps with the rowdy group in the Supporters Section.
“It was incredible,” Gil said of the environment at ONE Spokane Stadium. “The atmosphere was phenomenal. It’s been a long road for this first home game, so I want to dedicate this win to the players, the staff and the fans.”
Next up for Velocity FC is Ballard FC in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle. The club returns home on Saturday to host Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC in a 6 p.m. tilt.
Can’t get enough? Grab tickets to our next game this Saturday March 23 on our tickets page!
