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Pittsburgh Riverhounds

FINAL: NY Red Bulls II 2, Riverhounds SC 1

Photo credit - USL Championship / NY Red Bulls II

NY Red Bulls II 2, Riverhounds SC 1

Box Score 

MATCH SUMMARY:

Within four days, the Riverhounds have found yet another way to lose a match in the 96 minute.

On Sunday, in an evenly played match, NY Red Bulls II’s Deri Corfe penalty kick in the final minute was the difference in leading the hosts to a 2-1 victory against the Riverhounds SC.

After starting off with two wins, the Riverhounds SC have now lost their last two games, both in the 96th minute.

“We didn’t get enough possession in the attacking half,” head coach Bob Lilley said. “I don’t think we defended well enough as a team. We got the goal, but we were taking a lot of pressure. I think the later stages of the first half we were tired and they were able to get the tying goal. 

“It’s disappointing tonight how we gave up both goals. These shouldn’t be goals that we give up. The first one we had our back line back, we had a gap. On the penalty kick at the end of the game, we stopped them on the sideline and they played a square ball to the middle of the field and we didn’t have our midfielders recovering into good areas.”

With time winding down, the Red Bulls II tried to create one final chance at victory. A pass in from the left was dummied by Jake LaCava and ran to Caden Clark, whose angled pass into the penalty area looked to pick out LaCava’s run. The Red Bulls II substitute was brought down by Pittsburgh’s Ryan James before he got to the ball, resulting in a penalty kick. Corfe stepped up and shot low into the right corner to give the Red Bulls II a second consecutive victory.

Just before this penalty kick, the Riverhounds looked to have been taking some more control in the second half, with veteran midfield Kenardo Forbes leading the way, as the club’s most dangerous player most of the game.

Ryan James, who gave up the penalty that led to the penalty kick, had been playing a strong defensive game on the left side all game.

Getting his first start with the Hounds, goalkeeper Danny Vitiello performed well.

The Steel Army and others were not happy with the refs in this game. Similar to last game there could have been a few red cards handed out.

Yet again, the Riverhounds had a few opportunities to score. Robbie Mertz, Ropapa Mensah,  Steevan Dos Santos and Forbes were all creating chances and drawing fouls but didn’t get anything out of it.

Looking to rebound after their last-gasp defeat on Wednesday night, the Hounds took the lead ninth minute as Forbes delivered a perfect free kick from the left to the back post, where it was met by Skylar Thomas with a cushioned volley that sent the ball back across into the left corner of the net.

With this result, the Riverhounds SC are now tied in the Group F standings with NYRBII (2-2-0, six points).

All-time, Pittsburgh is now 4-7-1 against the Red Bulls second tier squad. They are 3-2 under head coach Bob Lilley.

Pittsburgh four games into their season lost their strength of being the top seed in their division.  In group F, Hartford Athletic now has two games in hand on the Riverhounds with the same amount of points (6).

On the bright side, Kenardo Forbes added another assist to his resume this season on the Hounds lone goal. The captain has produced 22 assists for the Riverhounds, tying him with Justin Evans and Gary DePalma for 4th all-time in club history. Forbes also has 36 assists total in his entire USL Championship career. He is now 2nd all-time in assists, only one assist behind the current leader. He also leads the league in assists still with 5.

GAMEDAY UPDATES: 

95′ – ANOTHER LATE STINGER! Deri Corfe scores the penalty kick!!

95′ – OH NO!! PENALTY KICK FOR THE RED BULLS IN THE FINAL MINUTE! Ryan James takes the foul

94′ – Forrest offsides for the Riverhounds

93′ – Mertz gets a yellow card late in the game for kicking the ball away before the Red Bulls could throw the ball in

91′ – Yellow card for the goal scorer Thomas. A good foul to take as the Red Bulls were moving fast on a quick transition at the Riverhounds defense

90′ – 5 minutes of stoppage time added

87′ – Elney with a bad foul on the captain Forbes right in front of the Riverhounds bench. Yellow card for Elney.

85′ – SUB: Mark Forrest is in for the Riverhounds. Ropapa Mensah comes out

84′ – Players are beginning to look gassed. 3 games in 9 days will do that

80′ – Mensah makes a great move and earns the Riverhounds a corner kick. Forbes at the flank taking it

78′ – Another free kick near midfield. Forbes takes it and Mensah heads a ball wide

75′ – At the hydration break, NYRBII uses their final substitutions

IN: Joe Fala, Daniel Edelman   OUT: Preston Kilwien, Kyle Zajec

75′ – Last hydration break for both teams

73′ – Great individual play from Mertz!! Almost scores on a breakaway, gets the ball back and crosses it over to Dos Santos but the shot goes wide

70′ – Dos Santos drew the foul on the yellow card. Free kick just outside the 18. Forbes takes the free kick once again, big scramble in the box but offsides is called.

70′ – Yellow card for NYRBII Kilwien #55

67′ – Deri Corfe for NYRBII draws a foul near the left side corner kick area.

The captain Zajec plays a good ball in but is deflected out for a goal kick.

63′ – Ashworth receives a yellow card

60′ – Subs for NYRBII. IN: Deri Corfe, Jake Lacava.    OUT: Omar Sowe, Cherif Dieye

57′ – Yellow card for the Red Bulls scorer, Sowe. He fouls Skylar Thomas in the Riverhounds box

53′ – Sub for NYRBII. Bo Cummins #83 in for #97 Samad Bounthong

52′ – Mertz curls a ball in for Griffin. Griffin was at the end of it but blocked by the defense and picked up by the goalie

49′ – Incredible play by Forbes!! Red Bulls had a 2-on-1 opportunity. The captain sprints back and clears the ball away from Elney.

Subs for the beginning of the second half:

Steevan Dos Santos is in for Lukas Fernandes. Danny Griffin, subbing in for Dakota Barnathan.

 

 

48′ – First half over. Teams tied 1-1.

48′ – Corner kick for the RedBulls. Probably the last play of the half.

47′ – Mensah takes a shot in the box that goes high

45′ – 3 minutes of stoppage time added

44′ – Red Bulls really bringing it on. Play has mainly been in the Riverhounds half the last 8 minutes

43′ – 2 big saves from Danny Vitiello on Dieye and Elney

36′ – Free kick just outside the box. Forbes and Mertz stand there to take it.

Forbes misses just high

34′ – NYRBII tie it. Free kick at midfield, Clark plays a long ball in to Sowe. Sowe takes two touches and finishes a great shot top left. 1-1

32′ – During hydration break it looks like Head Coach Bob Lilley, is signaling to his team to keep moving forward.

30′ – First hydration break for the players. 94 degrees in New Jersey today

28′ – Forbes takes a shot with his left foot. Takes a deflection and now will take the corner kick

Forbes lays it off to Robbie Mertz behind the box. Mertz takes a hard strike but it is blocked

24′ – Sowe for NY is offside. NYRBII playing the deep ball a lot

21′ – The goalie Danny Vitiello steps to the top of his box and heads the ball away. Great play

20′ – Ryan James with an impressive start to the game. Has drawn fouls and played great balls in transition

14′ – Both teams committing lots of fouls so far. Not much rhythm to the game except for constant free kicks

9′ – Skylar Thomas scores his first goal in two years. The centerback taps in a cross from the captain Kenardo Forbes

Riverhounds 1 – NYRBII 0

8′ – Free kick for the Riverhounds about 10 yards outside of the box

4′ – Ashworth with a penalty right outside the box. Free kick for NYRBII.

Kilwien the centerback for NY hits it just wide left.

Lineup notes:

Danny Vitiello will get his first start in net for the Riverhounds. Lukas Fernandes will make his first professional start up top with Mensah. Fernandes scored his first goal against the Philadelphia Union 2 matches ago.

 

 

Look for lineups to be posted here at approximately 4:15 p.m.

MATCH NOTES:  

Dating back to last season, the Hounds have a six-game winning streak on the road.

Pittsburgh will look to rebound after losing to Indy Eleven, 1-0, in its home opener this past Wednesday. Despite the loss, the Hounds still sit atop of Group F.

Meanwhile, New York, usually a playoff contender, sits in third place in Group F – three points behind the Hounds. Red Bulls II won its first match of the season this past Wednesday against Philadelphia Union II by a score of 5-1.

In series history, Pittsburgh has earned one victory (1-5-0) in road games against New York. This win, by a score of 2-1, came on Aug. 14, 2019 – the last time the Hounds traveled to battle the Eastern Conference foe. Of the five previous losses, Pittsburgh lost to the Red Bulls II in the 2015 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, 4-2, in Extra Time. 

 

PSN COVERAGE THIS WEEK: 

Riverhounds SC Notebook: Catching up with Jordan Dover

The conflicted uncertainty of Pandemic Soccer

Takeaways/Player Grades: Great players aren’t always great…

Bob Lilley Press Conference: Week 3 vs. Indy, at New York

 

Related Topics

Glory on the Grass

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

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