Richmond Rebels Return From Street Soccer USA Cup With a Victory

The Richmond Rebels played in the Street Soccer USA Cup in Washington D.C. this past weekend, from Friday 31st July to Sunday August 2nd. The players did themselves and the city of Richmond proud, and finished the tournament with a victory.

The first two games on Friday morning were tough. The pace of the game and the skill level of the opposition took everyone by surprise and the Rebels endured two demoralizing defeats to Charlottesville and Los Angeles.

But something clicked in the break after the second game. A realization that when you’re facing more talented opponents (most teams had players who’d played soccer their whole lives, while the majority of our team only began playing two months before the tournament) then teamwork, effort and organization is the answer.

And so Friday’s third and final game was excellent. We lost 3-0 to Fort Worth but the Rebels played hard, and played like a team. Will Williams was outstanding in goal and the crowd really got behind us.

First game on Saturday we were half-asleep and paid the price with a defeat to Austin, but next two games were outstanding. A 2-2 tie with Atlanta, followed by a (very) narrow 3-2 defeat to Chicago, a game we could have won had a couple of controversial refereeing decisions not gone against us.

By this point our effort and attitude had made us crowd favourites, drawing cheers, chants and singing for Richmond. Goalkeeper Will Williams earned a fan club with his aggressive distribution, which the commentators dubbed the “world famous Richmond roll-out”, Sheron Teal was a tackling machine in defence, Paul Bigstaff, Jarrell Jones and Rodney Knight all got on the scoresheet, Jamaal Yancey wouldn’t let anyone go past him, Roaul Thomas looked composed on the ball and John McDermott’s enthusiasm and organizational skills kept us all going.

Sunday we played well again but lost 3-1 to Ann Arbor, leaving us with just one final game in which to achieve our target of leaving the tournament with at least one victory. And we did it. A 3-1 win vs St Louis with two goals from Paul Bigstaff and one from Rodney Knight means we return to Richmond with a victory.

Last but not least, Paul Bigstaff was selected for the USA national team pool for the Homeless World Cup in Italy this year. He’s not definitely going yet as the pool will be narrowed down at some point, but he has an excellent chance. Paul developed game sense and confidence, and had (I think) five goals in the tournament. The whole team (players, coaches, volunteers, fans) are immensely proud of him.

Many more photos to follow.

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