BETHLEHEM, Pa. (September 24, 2017) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (8-10-11) were unable to overcome an early deficit, falling 3-2 to Bethlehem Steel FC (11-11-5) at Goodman Stadium.
Steel FC opened the match’s action with two goals in the first 10 minutes by Adam Najem (5’) and Cory Burke (8’), respectively, before the latter tacked on another in the 37th minute. The Hounds responded with two unanswered of their own – both from Corey Hertzog (40’ and 64’) – but were ultimately unable to find an equalizer.
A slow start from Pittsburgh put the club in a hole early. Santi Moar got the scoring started for the hosts after he beat the Hounds defense down the left side of the pitch. Making his way into the box, Moar found Najem in close for an easy chip shot past goalkeeper Matt Perrella.
Troubles on the left would repeat itself only moments later, as Najem fed Burke down that side again with a low cross for a point-blank tap-in by the Jamaica native.
Backed onto their heels, the Hounds were unable to do much in response, conceding another tally in the 37th minute. Burke once more was the troublemaker for the Pittsburgh backline, bulling his way through multiple defenders for a take from distance that extended the lead to three.
The Bethlehem forward’s first-half brace was his second straight overall against the Hounds, as he has six career goals against the club in six games played.
Facing a three-goal hole, the Hounds immediately responded by way of Hertzog, who cashed in on a penalty in the 40th minute after being held up by Auston Trusty.
Seizing momentum, possession swung in favor of Pittsburgh to start the second half, as the club applied consistent pressure against a suddenly shaken Bethlehem defense. Head coach Dave Brandt’s decision to sub Chevaughn Walsh for Kay Banjo in the 61st minute proved to be the added boost in breaking the gridlock for the match’s next tally.
Caught in no man’s land, defender Hugh Roberts attempted to push play out of his defensive third only to be stripped by Walsh with a timely tackle. The Hounds forward quickly pushed the ball to Hertzog, who in all alone beat McGuire to his right with ease.
For Hertzog, his brace was his third of the season and upped his goal total to a team-leading 13. In addition, the two tallies made it 26 overall in his career donning Black and Gold, passing Hounds great Rob Vincent for third all-time in club history.
Back-and-forth possession ensued following Hertzog’s second goal, with the Hounds experiencing solid spells of possession, but no Grade-A scoring chances. Bethlehem nearly made the score 4-2, as James Chambers fired a long shot off the bottom of the crossbar in the 81st minute.
Pittsburgh’s last-gasp chance came in stoppage time with Walsh finding space from outside the box. Vying for his sixth goal on the season, Walsh’s right-footed take was well struck, but directly into the hands of the Bethlehem keeper.
With the defeat, the Hounds’ playoff aspirations took a major hit, as Bethlehem moved into the eighth spot in the East holding two games in hand over its in-state rival.
Also of note, the Hounds dropped a match for only the third time in their last 10 games played, while on the player side, the club will be shorthanded next weekend with starting center back Jamal Jack serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation – he picked up his fifth on the year in the 36th minute.
Still only three points removed from tying Steel FC in points, the Hounds next have the opportunity to continue their fight for the postseason with a meeting against No. 9 New York Red Bulls II (11-12-5) in Montclair, New Jersey next Saturday, Sept. 30. Set to kick off at 4 p.m., more information on the match can be found by visiting www.riverhounds.com.
Lineups:
Riverhounds – Matt Perrella – Taylor Washington, Tobi Adewole, Jamal Jack (Gale Agbossoumonde 45’), Shannon Gomez – Romeo Parkes (Kenroy Howell 70’), Stephen Okai, Victor Souto, Kevin Kerr – Kay Banjo (Chevaughn Walsh 61’), Corey Hertzog
Subs not used: Brenden Alfery, Ritchie Duffie, Danny Earls, Jack Thompson
Bethlehem Steel FC – Jake McGuire – Aaron Jones, Hugh Roberts, Auston Trusty, Charles Reymann – James Chambers, Derrick Jones – Marcus Epps (Chris Nanco 45’), Adam Najem, Santi Moar (Seku Conneh 69’) – Cory Burke (Josh Heard 88’)
Subs not used: Tomás Romero, Amoy Brown, Matthew Mahoney, Yosef Samuel
Scoring Summary:
BST – Adam Najem (Santi Moar) – 5’
BST – Cory Burke (Adam Najem) – 8’
BST – Cory Burke (Jake McGuire) – 37’
PGH – Corey Hertzog (penalty) – 40’
PGH – Corey Hertzog (Chevaughn Walsh) – 64’
Misconduct Summary:
BST – Auston Trusty (caution) – 29’
PGH – Stephen Okai (caution) – 34’
PGH – Jamal Jack (caution) – 36’
BST – Santi Moar (caution) – 41’
