The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (8-10-11) travel to Montclair, New Jersey, this weekend for their final road match of the regular season to take on New York Red Bulls II (11-12-5) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Pittser Field.
The match will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two foes. Pittsburgh welcomed New York to Highmark Stadium for the 2017 season opener on March 25 that ended in a 3-3 draw.
Red Bulls II hold the head-to-head advantage at 4-1-1.
A year after winning the USL Cup, New York is in a similar position as the Hounds – fighting for a playoff spot. Red Bulls II currently hold the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference and are tied in points (38) with eighth-place Bethlehem Steel FC.
After starting the season 6-10-3, New York has bounced back to go 5-1-2 since, including a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) that concluded earlier this month.
Saturday’s tilt will be New York’s first since Sept. 16 – a 4-2 defeat to FC Cincinnati. The club has won its past four matches at home, having not lost since July 15.
In a team rife with attacking talent, New York has five players with five goals or more. Florian Valot has been perhaps the hottest of late, tallying four times in New York’s last four matches. The midfielder notched both goals in its last match against Cincinnati, earning USL Team of the Week honors for his efforts.
Strengths
Scorers –Along with Valot, Brandon Allen (nine), Junior Flemmings (eight), Vincent Bezecourt (six) and Stefano Bonomo (six) have combined to give New York five players in the top 30 in the East in goals scored. Overall, New York boasts the seventh-highest scoring offense (46 goals) in the league.
Tackles – New York is second in the East in tackle success rate at 77.7 percent.
Possession – New York’s 56 percent possession share is tops in the East.
Weaknesses
Duels – With a 47.1 percent mark, New York is last in the East in percentage of duels won.
Passing – Red Bulls II’s 84.9 passing percentage in their own half is last in the East. Additionally, the club’s 74.7 passing percentage overall is the conference’s third-worst mark.
