En route to clinching the Keystone Derby Cup, presented by K&L Gates and the Pennsylvania Lottery, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (15-4-11) bested rival Penn FC (9-14-8), 2-0, on Wednesday at FNB Field. In the midst of the Black and Gold’s fantastic night, two newcomers found their way on the scoresheet. Here’s how Kay Banjo and Andrew Lubahn scored their first goals of the season.
38’ Kay Banjo
Christiano François had one man to beat down the right side of the penalty box, but it was no challenge for the midfielder as speed is his strong suit.
Once François (yellow arrow) maneuvers around a Penn FC defender, he sent a ball toward the goalmouth. Ben Fitzpatrick (orange arrow) sprints to the sphere whereas Banjo (green arrow) will settle in around the penalty spot.
As François’ pass deflects off a mix of players, including a Penn FC defender and Fitzpatrick, the ball trickles out in front of the net. Penn FC goalkeeper Sean Lewis attempts to clear away the chance, but he misses due to wet field conditions and the unexpected ricochet. With an open frame, Banjo charges the ball and blasts it past the outstretched hands of Lewis to put the Hounds up 1-0.
90’+3 Andrew Lubahn assisted by Neco Brett
As a faulty Penn FC clearance attempt made its way to the halfway line, Lubahn spotted it, took possession and began a break the other way.
As Lubahn (green arrow) sprinted toward two opposing players, one of these foes elects to leave Neco Brett (yellow arrow) for a chance at the ball. The wingback spots this and sends a through-ball to his teammate.
As Brett approached the 18-yard box, he faces a similar situation that Lubahn earlier did. Noticing a defender closing on him, the striker plays a pass back to the winger in give-and-go fashion. Penn FC midfielder Baffoe Prince (blue arrow) comes a long way to run Lubahn down, but he cannot prevent the shot, which ultimately beats Lewis to the bottom right-hand corner to clinch the match for Pittsburgh.
Tale of the Tape
On a sloppy field after a 90-minute weather delay, both teams struggled to find their footing offensively. With only two shots on target combined in the first half, Pittsburgh was the squad to find the net to jump out to the 1-0 lead.
Despite falling behind, Penn FC continued to pressure the Hounds’ goal. Using 65 percent possession over the course of the match, the squad from Harrisburg ended up with more shots on goal (4-to-3) than the Hounds, although it could not beat goalkeeper Mike Kirk, who made four saves to preserve the shutout.
