The 2022-2023 Richmond are starting to hit their groove and a large part of that is the role Justin Sukow is playing in the midfield. With the departure of Ethan Bryant to Sporting Kansas City, a lot of Richmond Kickers supporters were wondering “Who are we going to get to replace him?”
Then in the transfer window, Darren and the staff brought another player from the pink team (Forward Madison) to fall in that hole. Justin Sukow was brought into the club to be a connective piece in the midfield. He had some big shoes to feel for the team that was just coming off winning the 2022 Player’s Supporters Shield. So coming into a new squad would be difficult for some but much like Justin’s attitude which is very calm and collected, he has made himself a mainstay on the team sheets. So much so that in eleven games, Sukow has been named to the starting lineup 10 times. Sukow credits this to how Darren and his staff have helped him be comfortable in midfield but helping be confident in his game.
Photo cred: RVAHUB
Before joining the club this past offseason, Justin Sukow has almost 50 caps in USL League playing for fellow Henny Derby rivals, Forward Madison. In those appearances, he has contributed to 5 goal contributions. When asked about his approach to games Sukow let it be known that he has an idea of how he wants things to go on the field but is willing to adjust on the fly and let it come to him. When asked to describe a “typical” Justin Sukow game he responded by stating that he likes to be on the ball a lot with passes going forward but he understands that staying in positions and helping out defensively is key.
Photo cred: RVAHUB
His style of play can be looked at as a “box to box” midfielder who is not shy of a good tackle as he is currently 9th in the league in tackles with a 76% success rate and 2nd in the team with 1.9 successful dribbles per 90. Justin has also shown he can contribute to scoring key goals as he did against South Georgia Tormenta by scoring an Olimpico. Darren has mentioned before in different articles why making players feel a part of the family and welcomed off the field is just as important as getting them into the right setup on the field and you can see that paying off with Justin Sukow.
Justin so far has proven that he has the making of being a solid midfielder for Kickers as they look to keep things pushing in the league.
