Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (13-4-10) had an offensive explosion. In their 4-1 victory against Bethlehem Steel FC (12-12-6) on Friday at Highmark Stadium, the Hounds received goals from four different players for the first time since the 2016 campaign. Here’s how the Black and Gold touched the twine against Steel FC.
17’ Joe Greenspan assisted by Ben Zemanski
The Hounds were the first to make it on the scoresheet, and it came from a foot-to-head connection.
Taking a free kick from about 35 yards out, midfielder Ben Zemanski (yellow arrow) launches a ball into the center of the penalty area. As the ball descends, defender Joe Greenspan (green arrow) maneuvers around a Steel FC athlete and directs it into the net to provide the Hounds with an early 1-0 advantage.
45’ Kenardo Forbes assisted by Neco Brett
Throughout the season, Kenardo Forbes has racked up assists and Neco Brett has collected goals, each leading the team in these respective statistics. This time, the two switched roles as the Hounds entered the attacking third.
Forbes (blue arrow) initially finds a passing lane into Brett (orange arrow), who stands inside the 18-yard box. Even though he has space to work with originally, Bethlehem will soon close on the Pittsburgh striker.
Seen above, Steel FC has blocked Brett’s path to the goal, including erasing a chance at having a clean look at the net. With his options to go forward limited, Brett elects to pass it back to Forbes, who remains just outside of the penalty area. Despite being forced out of the 18-yard box, the Hounds still cash in before the end of the half, as Forbes subsequently blasts a shot into the upper-90 of the far post.
76’ Neco Brett
After assisting the Hounds’ second goal of the match, Brett scored in the second half.
Following a run into the attacking third, Brett (orange arrow) attempts to control a bouncing ball as he nears the 18-yard box. With the ball up for grabs, the striker seems to be outnumbered with two Steel FC athletes closing on the sphere.
Despite having to battle two opponents for possession, Brett again regains control of the ball and turns to the center of the field. With a shooting lane directly in front of him, the forward tallies the squad’s third goal of the match.
79’ Jordan Dover
From defense to offense, two wingbacks were responsible for the team’s final goal of the match.
Sprinting into the attacking third and all the way into the penalty area along the end line, Ray Lee (yellow arrow) elected to send a cross over a tough-angle shot. His cross will ultimately land at the feet of a fellow teammate, shown by the area highlighted by a red circle.
As the ball falls back to the turf, Jordan Dover (green arrow) sprints into the six-yard box before placing a hard shot into the net, marking his second goal of the season.
The Other Side
Throughout the match, Bethlehem struggled to find consistent pressure on the offensive end and its only tally came means of a penalty kick opportunity in the first half.
Following a foul in the penalty area, Steel FC captain James Chambers converted from the penalty spot, beating Hounds goalkeeper Mike Kirk to the bottom left-hand corner in the 35th minute. This was Bethlehem’s only shot of the half.
Steel FC finished the match with six total shots.
Tale of the Tape
The Hounds dominated the shots battle, 24-6, en route to their 4-1 victory. Furthermore, the squad also held the advantage in shots on goal, 9-2.
Despite the wide margin in shots between the sides, possession was even throughout the game, as Pittsburgh held a slight advantage with 50.5 percent possession. Although looking more closely, possession also ultimately swung in the Hounds’ favor. The Black and Gold played 30 percent of the game from its attacking third compared to just 17 percent in its defensive third.
Posting four times as many shots and holding the ball in its attacking third almost double the amount of time as its opponent, Pittsburgh sprinted toward the 4-1 victory.
