PITTSBURGH (August 13, 2016) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (4-14-4) used a second half tally by Kevin Kerr to power past Bethlehem Steel FC (6-9-8), 2-1, at Highmark Stadium.
The victory snapped a four-match losing streak at home, as Kerr’s goal in the 62nd minute broke a 1-1 tie. Corey Hertzog got the Hounds on the board first early in the first half in the 18th minute, while Cory Burke knotted the score with a goal in the 28th minute.
For Hertzog, the tally continued a stellar stretch of play for the Hounds forward over the past four matches, as he has scored in four-straight and upped his team-leading goal total to nine. Along with helper on the Kerr winner, Hertzog also leads the team in assists with four on the season.
Also of note, Columbus Crew SC loanee Zack Steffen made his Hounds debut in goal, starting in place of Mauricio Vargas, who was scratched due to a back injury. Steffen, who had signed with Columbus at the end of this past July, stepped up to stop six of seven shots faced on net – the most by a Hounds keeper since Hunter Gilstrap stopped six of eight shots at Rochester on June 25.
Back and forth action opened the match with the clubs battling for possession at midfield. The Hounds broke through eventually off some useful passing resulting in a blocked Mike Green cross for a corner in the 17th minute.
Taking the corner from the right of the goal, Danny Earls went short to Lebo Moloto, who after faking an initial cross, returned the ball back to Earls. From there, the Hounds midfielder curled a beautiful ball into the box, finding the head of Hertzog, who deftly flicked a header far-post past goalkeeper Samir Badr.
Burke would answer shortly after off a tough Green turnover in the defensive end. After a nice display of team defense blocked a Steel shot at the top of the 18, the deflection came to Green. Looking to push onto the counter, Green’s pass was instead intercepted by Burke, who then wasted no time firing a shot past Steffen.
The match returned to back and forth action before the Hounds struck in the 62nd minute off heads up passing between Kerr and Hertzog. Moving play into the box, Kerr found Hertzog with a quick feed with the latter returning the ball immediately back to Kerr, who found himself all alone in close on Badr. The captain shifted the ball to his left foot upon reception, finishing with a well-placed shot past the Steel goalkeeper.
Even with the result, the Hounds were unable to escape the match completely unscathed as forward Nick Thompsonand defender Ryan Adeleye both left due to injury in the second half. No further updates on the status of either player for next week’s contest at Rochester can be provided at this time.
Back in the win column for the first time since June, the Hounds now face the Rhinos (9-5-9) for the final time this season on Saturday, August 20, at 6:05 p.m.
Line-ups:
Riverhounds – Zack Steffen – Willie Hunt, Ryan Adeleye (Marshall Hollingsworth 58′), Sergio Campbell, Mike Green – Danny Earls, Stephen Okai (Zak Boggs 78′), Kevin Kerr, Lebo Moloto (Cristian Martinez 47′) – Corey Hertzog, Alejandro Aguilar (Nick Thompson 47′ (Rodrigo Saravia 65′))
Subs not used: Hunter Gilstrap, Jack Thompson
Bethlehem Steel FC – Samir Badr – Ryan Richter, Anderson Conceicao, Austin Trusty, Taylor Washington (Amoy Brown 78′) – Boluwatife Akinyode, James Chambers, Leo Fernandes (Gabriel Gissie 89′) – Eric Ayuk, Josh Heard (Jamie Luchini 64′), Cory Burke (Justin McMaster 80′)
Subs not used: Nick Bibbs, Anthony Fontana
Scoring Summary:
PGH- Corey Hertzog 18′ (Danny Earls)
BST- Cory Burke 28′
PGH- Kevin Kerr 62′ (Corey Hertzog)
Misconduct Summary:
PGH- Danny Earls 23′ (Caution)
BST- Ryan Richter 37′ (Caution)
BST- James Chambers 66′ (Caution)
PGH- Corey Hertzog 90+’ (Caution)
BST- Anderson Conceicao 90+’ (Caution)
Cleveland Brothers “Blue Collar Player of the Game” – Corey Hertzog
Post-Game Quote Sheet
Dave Brandt
On the recent Crew SC additions adding depth…
I think one of our issues right now is we can’t win right now without collateral damage. We have to learn to win in control of our bodies without the issues. It’s the next step. Our depth has been tested. Clearly in Montreal we were out of sorts, three, four guys didn’t travel. So it was a little better tonight. More in sync.
On the tying goal…
I could have almost prepared this comment before the game. We haven’t done enough. I haven’t done enough. We can do better. We are trying. We are fighting. Sometimes getting better doesn’t happen in a straight line. There are ups and down. And yes that pass was a down, but it was just one.
On Kevin Kerr…
Kevin owed me that goal; I’ve seen him score that goal on tape before I got here like eight times. He’s scored for me before, but not that goal. We missed Kevin badly on Wednesday in Montreal, not only his play, but also his presence.
On Corey Hertzog…
Corey is just a smart player who plays super hard. He gives me his all. Corey is the definition of giving it your all. If everyone does that, we get better faster. He’s a great example.
Corey Hertzog
On the chemistry between him and Kevin Kerr…
Our chemistry on and off the field is great. When you have that connection off the field, it really connects to on the field as you could see tonight. We had a great finish.
On what’s going right…
I wouldn’t say it’s because of me – everyone is playing well – it’s just as a team. We train well as a team. [Over the past four matches], the only parts we haven’t played well were the first 20 of Montreal. After that we’ve been playing well. We played better than the teams than came out. Maybe a little more against Louisville, but we’re coming out and doing our best.
Thoughts at halftime…
It was just don’t come out like we did at Louisville. We played a strong 45 minutes and had to go out strong. I should have had a finish in the first two minutes but I missed it. We had those chances at Louisville and we need to play like that all the time.
On getting a win…
I mean, you can never count it out. A win, no matter what your record is, feels good. You always want to win. Coming out of every game you can always improve. We’re happy we got two points; we’re just hoping to get two more on the road against Rochester.
Zack Steffen
On playing immediately…
We always want to play games, so this was a good game to play and it was nice to play.
On being a part of this group…
It’s nice to come in here and be part of a team that wants to help. We always want to help out the group. Getting a win is always fun. The group is great.
On joining a new team…
It’s tough. You don’t know the names very well or how they play. You learn throughout the game. I tell them what I like and they tell me what they like. We try to learn as soon as possible.
