
Riverhounds SC 3, NY Red Bulls II 0
The Riverhounds SC fought off the early pressure from New York Red Bulls II, then coasted to a 3-0 win on Saturday at Highmark Stadium for its second straight win.
With this impressive win against second place Red Bulls II, the Hounds improve to an overall record of 4-2-7.
“Hopefully we’ll start to bring our wins total up. Tonight was a step in the right direction,” Bob Lilley, Riverhounds head coach said. “We’re by no means in a great spot in the league standings. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Steevan Dos Santos continued his excellent form of late with a goal and an assist. Neco Brett and Thomas Vancaeyezeele score the other goals for Pittsburgh.
It took 40 minutes for Pittsburgh to get the first goal, after facing lots of high pressure from the Baby Bulls.
In fact, it were the Red Bulls II who took the first three shots on frame, all handled by Morton, who finished with seven saves.
“They’re a good team. They’re really dynamic in the attacking third, we knew that coming in. I thought the guys, the back five and the three in the midfield did a really good job,” Morton said. “In the first half when they had a lot of pressure, they did a really good job of keeping them at bay.”
While the Red Bulls kept trying to work short passes through the middle, the Hounds, coming out with same line-up in a 5-3-2 formation for the second week in a row, methodically worked to find opening left by the Red Bulls on counters.
“The last few teams we played send a lot of guys forward and they leave a lot of space,” Lilley explained. “We’ve done a good job of finding outlets and getting in behind teams early, if they are going to take that much risk then we have to get our outlets and be aggressive you know trying to create those chances. We didn’t create a lot in the first half but I thought we found the right balls and found some balls in the box.”
Finally, in the 40th minute, Dos Santos received a ball at midfield, managed to keep possession, then turned to pass it for Neco Brett who was breaking free onside behind the NYRBII back line.
Brett received the pass, then with NY goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu coming off the line, chipped a perfectly placed ball into the back of the net.
With great touch comes great reward. @necobrettj just SCORES GOALS. 🙌#UNLEASH | #PITvNY | #HoundsForPAAR pic.twitter.com/lPEupN74bd
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) June 22, 2019
“We have to see the movement of each other. I saw [Brett], he was running and there was a big gap between the defender,” Dos Santos said. “I just put the ball there and he scored a wonderful goal.”
Six minutes after the halftime break, and after veteran midfielder Kevin Kerr did some nice work on the left side to draw a corner kick, the hosts doubled their lead when forward Dos Santos turned provider to scorer as he turned in midfielder Kenardo Forbes’ corner kick.
DOS SANTOS HEADERS 😍#PITvNY | #UNLEASH | #HoundsForPAAR pic.twitter.com/4dCDYm2D8V
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) June 23, 2019
“I ran near post and the ball came straight to my head. I just head to put my head out and direct to the goal,” Dos Santos added.
Pittsburgh found their third in the 58th minute, again off a corner kick, as a headed effort from Dos Santos was saved from close range only for defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele to knock in the rebound. New York’s evening got worse when midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi was sent off on a second yellow card after receiving both cautions within three minutes. Pittsburgh’s win marks the second consecutive victory in which they scored at least three goals.
Yeah, @Vankizii always makes it look easy. 😃#PITvNY | #UNLEASH | #HoundsForPAAR pic.twitter.com/aUJ2aZPhwq
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) June 23, 2019
Things got chippy as Red Bulls II midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi committed two fouls within a three period, earning the New York player a red card.
A persistent infringement in the 63rd minute and an elbowing foul in the 65th minute resulted in Koffi’s ejection from the match.
With the Hounds playing up a man for the remainder of the match, they flipped the switch in the possession battle as the Red Bulls II started to chase the game.
In the past two matches, the Hounds have outscored opponents by an 8-0 margin.
“The game before, and this game, everything came together,” Dos Santos said. “We scored a lot of goals, and didn’t concede goals.”
Post game with @RiverhoundsSC keeper Kyle Morton, after posting second straight clean sheet.#PITvNY pic.twitter.com/WUbJ4HPXcx
— John Krysinsky (@PghSoccerScribe) June 23, 2019
“I think we’re getting closer to where we want to be at. I think the last couple results have really showed who we are. Five goals last game, three goals tonight, two clean sheets,” Morton said. “We’re not giving up too many chances, I think it’s two really good team performances and we just keep building off results.”
Neco Brett’s goal made him the ninth player to score 20 career goals with the Hounds.
Look for more post game reaction and Analysis/Player Grades to follow on Pittsburgh Soccer Now on Sunday and Monday.
Gameday updates:
8:59 – It’s over!
Riverhounds defeat NY Red Bulls II by score of 3-0 for the third time in five years at Highmark Stadium.
8:47 – couple of late chances for Volesky, but one was off side, and other, on nice ball from Mertz shot was saved.
8:46 – Anthony Velarde now enters for Kevin Kerr. 85′
8:41 – First subs for Hounds.
8:35 – Down a man, looks very much like Red Bulls II have dropped its high press. Hounds knocking it around pretty effectively. (70′)
8:28 – Robbie Mertz and then Noah Franke on end of some physical play from RBNYII’s Jean Koffi, who subsequently booked for his second yellow — and is now sent off. Hounds playing up a man for rest of the way. 65′ 3-0 PIT
8:21 – GOAL – RIVERHOUNDS – 3-0 (57′)
Thomas Vancaeyezeele puts it in after Dos Santos’ header, from another corner from Forbes
Here’s the Dos Santos’ goal…
8:14 – GOAL – RIVERHOUNDS – 2-0 (50′)
Steevan Dos Santos header off Forbes corner attempt.
Kevin Kerr set up the corner with terrific move to get up the left side end line.
8:09 – second half starts, no subs
8:01 – Halftime stats of note:
Possession: NYRBII 58%/PIT 42%
Shots: NYRB 6-4 (3-1 on target)
Three saves for Hounds keeper Kyle Morton
Corners: NYRBII 2-1
Crosses: PIT 15-7
This was Brett’s team leading fifth goal of the season.
Here’s a look at the goal…
7:52 – HALFTIME
7:47 – GOAL – RIVERHOUNDS – 1-0
Neco Brett
What a finish! Chips it over Red Bulls keeper after getting brilliant ball from Dos Santos who held up the ball beautifully in the counter-attack build-up. 1-0 Pgh
7:41 – Vanceayezeele battles hard to draw foul on right side box. Forbes’ free kick intended for Kerr cleared away. James redirects toward goal, and Tommy V’s header effort misses. Hounds yet to put shot on frame.
7:37 – Bulls ping it around near top of box and again it’s Stroud with shot from top of box — right at Morton. Three saves now for Hounds keeper.
7:35- Hounds keeper Kyle Morton catches one in bread basket after close range shot from NYRBII’s Ben Mines after corner.
7:30 – Hounds with best chance so far. (24′)
7:18 – first shot attempt comes from NYRBII’s Jared Stroud — from top of box after connecting a few passes. Red Bulls II are very effective working the ball around in tight spots.
7:16 – first time Dos Santos goes down about 35 yards from goal. Free kick from Forbes just misses right of goal. Intended for Neco Brett.
7:11 – Red Bulls with plenty of pressure early, committing plenty of bodies forward for two or so uneasy minutes for Hounds defenders, but can’t get shot away.
7:06 – We’ve kicked off at Highmark. From far sideline at midfield, Hounds’ Steevan Dos Santos sends a ball over all NYRBII red shirts, finds Neco Brett in too good to be true ball — but Neco’s offside. 1′
Riverhounds Starting XI:
GK – Kyle Morton
D – Joe Greenspan, Tobi Adewole, Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Noah Franke, Ryan James
MF – Kenardo Forbes, Kevin Kerr, Robbie Mertz
F – Steevan Dos Santos, Neco Brett
Available players off bench include:
Austin Pack (GK), Uche Uzo, Dani Rovira, Sam Kahsai, Anthony Velarde, Christian Volesky, Mark Forrest
NY Red Bulls II starters:
STARTING XI 🆚 @RiverhoundsSC #PITvNY | #NYRBII pic.twitter.com/o0WcOnycM3
— New York Red Bulls II (@NYRBII) June 22, 2019
Starting lineups will be posted here at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Soccer Scribe’s projected Hounds starting XI:
GK – Kyle Morton
D – Joe Greenspan, Tobi Adewole, Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Noah Franke, Ryan James
MF – Kenardo Forbes, Kevin Kerr, Robbie Mertz
F – Steevan Dos Santos, Neco Brett
No changes to the Hounds injury report:
Mouhamed Dabo – Out (hamstring)
Prosper Figbe – Out (knee)
.Caleb Smith – Out (groin)
Match Information
Saturday, June 22 | 7 p.m.
Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Statistics: USL Championship Match Center
PSN Coverage: John Krysinsky @pghsoccerscribe; Rachael McKriger @RachaelMcKriger
Live Updates: Twitter #PITvNY
Preview / Scouting Report on NYRBII
PSN Riverhounds Coverage from this week & more on #PITvNY
Riverhounds SC Notebook: Morton in groove; Dover’s Gold Cup test
“It will be good to play in front of a crowd at home, in front of our fans. I’m looking forward to that this week."#UNLEASH | #PITvNY | #HoundsForPAARhttps://t.co/rzHGn8KtQJ
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) June 22, 2019
In this week's #Blueprint2Success, head coach Bob Lilley breaks down the @NYRBII offense and staying strong at home.#UNLEASH | #PITvNY | #B2S pic.twitter.com/u3rxMuGoRl
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) June 21, 2019
