RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers and FC Cincinnati played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at City Stadium as FCC’s Jimmy McLaughlin provided a second-half equalizer for the visitors. The Kickers took the lead in the seventh minute when Chris Korb pulled off a beautiful piece of skill to beat his man on the left, and his low cross was touched home at the near post by Fred Owusu Sekyere. Luiz Fernando shot over for the Kickers soon after as the hosts had the better pressure early as FCC didn’t find much success early. Cincinnati’s first real chance came in the 31st minute when Austin Berry poked an effort that was claimed by Richmond’s Matt Turner after a corner wasn’t cleared, but Richmond held its lead until the break. Richmond’s Oliver Minatel forced a good save five minutes into the second half after a good move by the Kickers, while FCC’s Cristian Martinez blazed a shot over from 14 yards out on the right side of the penalty area. Cincinnati got on level terms with 20 minutes to go as a good cut-back from Matt Bahner found McLaughlin for a low finish to the right corner, and while the Kickers almost regained the lead with 10 minutes to go when Alhaji Kamara’s header clipped the top of the crossbar, the game ended all square.

Scoring: 
7’ – RIC – Fred Owusu Sekyere (Chris Korb)
70’ – CIN – Jimmy McLaughlin (Matt Bahner)

• #RICvCIN: Full Match and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. As they had in their last home outing, the Kickers looked a far more confident proposition in attack on their home turf than they had against the Tampa Bay Rowdies a week ago. It paid off for the hosts inside the opening 10 minutes as the Kickers got an early lead. The Kickers could have added to their lead in the opening half-hour, too, but were unable to take advantage as FCC worked its way into the game. As with its win against Pittsburgh, though, Richmond should come out of Saturday’s game more confident it can find the net after creating six scoring chances and holding its own with a good attacking side.

• 2. Cincinnati wouldn’t have relished having to come back from an early deficit against as good a defensive side as the Kickers, but the team got stronger as the game progressed and deserved its equalizer when Matt Bahner’s combination with Kadeem Dacres provided a great chance for Jimmy McLaughlin to slot home. With the team’s winless streak now at four games (0-1-3), though, FCC will want to get back in the win column sooner rather than later.

• 3. Chris Korb’s last professional appearance came on August 13, 2015 for D.C. United, when a torn ACL brought his season to an end. Twenty months and two additional surgeries later after complications, Korb took his first steps back toward D.C.’s squad as he started on Saturday for the Kickers. For someone who hadn’t seen competitive action in that long, Korb looked remarkably sharp as well, producing an excellent skill-check to set up Fred Owusu Sekyere’s opening goal. Hopefully Saturday was the start of something great for the veteran defender.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Jimmy McLaughlin, FC Cincinnati – McLaughlin was regularly dangerous for FC Cincinnati, and earned his side a point on the road with his equalizer. 

Upcoming Games:
Richmond Kickers vs. Harrisburg City Islanders – May 13, 7 p.m. ET, City Stadium
FC Cincinnati vs. Orlando City B – May 13, 5 p.m. ET, Nippert Stadium