PITTSBURGH (August 24, 2016) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (5-15-4) exploded for three goals in the first half, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Wilmington Hammerheads FC (6-11-7) at Highmark Stadium.
Corey Hertzog kept hot, tallying two goals, one in each of the halves, while Willie Hunt and Nick Thompson scored less than four minutes apart to close out the first half in the 40th and 44th minute, respectively. Wilmington’s lone tally came by way of Ashani Fairclough in the 72nd minute.
The victory clinched a season sweep of Wilmington, which saw the Hounds outscore the Hammerheads to the tune of 8-to-2, while also extending a now four-match unbeaten streak dating back to August of 2015. Pittsburgh has now won back-to-back home games for the first time since July 4 of 2015 as well, and the three first half goals were a new season high – trumping two-goal efforts in the first 45 against Montreal in June and Wilmington in July.
The Hounds got on the board quickly in the sixth minute, as Cristian Martinez fed Hertzog a pretty feed at the top of the box. The Hounds forward then unleashed an absolute rocket to beat a diving Eric Ati from 20 yards out.
Sustained bouts of possession for Pittsburgh followed, with the club eventually breaking through in the 40th minute off a corner. Lining up from the right, Danny Earls fired a beauty of a ball in to find a rising Hunt at the back post for the header on goal. For Earls, the helper marked his second on the season, both on corners, while Hunt tallied for the first time since scoring two goals against the New York Red Bulls in last year’s playoffs in September.
Thompson followed soon after with a gritty goal via a fortunate deflection. Battling for space off a long through-ball over top by Lebo Moloto, Thompson fought off midfielder Logan Miller to gain possession just within the box. With space, Thompson fired a shot on goal, deflecting off the leg of Miller, and just squeaking by an aggressive Ati. The goal added to a stellar performance for Thompson, who started up front alongside Kevin Kerr and Martinez, playing 69 minutes and finishing with four shots attempted to go along with his second goal of the season.
Wilmington came out with a spirited showing in the second half, outshooting the Hounds six-to-five, and eventually finding the back of the net thanks to some crisp passing by Kyle Parker to give Fairclough an open look on a header in close past goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
The match would conclude on an interesting sequence that gave the Hounds back-to-back penalty kicks in stoppage time. First, Moloto drew a foul in the box, allowing for Kerr to have the first crack at extending the Hounds lead to three. The captain fired a solid take on frame, but his shot rose, hitting directly off the crossbar. In the ensuing chaos for possession, Wilmington midfielder Zev Taublieb was whistled for a handball and issued a yellow card. Hertzog next stepped up to take the penalty, converting past Ati with ease and his second goal of the night.
With 11 goals on the season, only Rob Vincent (18) and Jose Angulo (13) have scored more for the Hounds in a single season than Hertzog since 2013. Hertzog also becomes only the eighth player in club history to have totaled 10 or more goals in a season, while his 26 points on the year have him third in the League scoring race – trailing only Chandler Hoffman (28) of Louisville and Jack McBean (32) of LA Galaxy II.
The Hounds now close out the week in Harrisburg against the City Islanders (7-14-4) in the third and final leg of the Keystone Derby Cup presented by K&L Gates and the Pennsylvania Lottery on Saturday, August 27 at 7 p.m.
Line-ups:
Riverhounds – Zack Steffen – Marshall Hollingsworth (Zak Boggs 86′), Willie Hunt, Sergio Campbell, Mike Green – Danny Earls, Corey Hertzog, Lebo Moloto – Kevin Kerr, Nick Thompson (Alejandro Aguilar 69′), Cristian Martinez (Drew Russell 69′)
Subs not used: Hunter Gilstrap, Jack Thompson, Nick Kolarac, Chevaughn Walsh
Wilmington Hammerheads FC – Eric Ati – Michael Mecham, Michael Binns, Bruno Perone, Ashani Fairclough – Logan Miller (Jeff Michaud 63′), Justin Moose (Kyle Parker 70′), Austin Martz (Qudus Lawal 81′), Stefan Defregger (Zev Taublieb 46′), Matthew Barnes Homer, Jermie Lynch (Tom Parratt 46′)
Subs not used: Ferrety Sousa, John Smits
Scoring Summary:
PGH – Corey Hertzog 6′ (Cristian Martinez)
PGH – Willie Hunt 40′ (Danny Earls)
PGH – Nick Thompson 44′ (Lebo Moloto)
WIL – Ashani Fairclough 72′ (Kyle Parker)
PGH – Corey Hertzog 90’+ (penalty)
Misconduct Summary:
WIL – Zev Taublieb 90’+ (caution)
Cleveland Brothers “Blue Collar Player of the Game” – Willie Hunt
Post-Game Quote Sheet
Dave Brandt
On Hunt’s play…
I thought Willie was fantastic tonight. Willie is the centerback, he is very good in the back. He is a little guy who can get up in the air. It was a great goal. I had both hands up in the air before it went in, because you could just see the angle was in. It was a great goal.
On Nick Thompson…
For sure. He had a bit of a layoff. But I knew what was there with him. He is not a natural striker, but right now that’s one place where he can help us. Nick can play anywhere up the middle, from back to front. Has probably played as little up top as anyone. But it shows what kind of athlete he is. He’s got a lot of abilities. He’s a big kid.
On the team’s recent play…
Obviously, we are coming off a disappointing 3-0 loss at Rochester. For a couple of weeks now it’s been an on one, off one, which is better than just being off, off, off. There were good spells of possession in Rochester. The score line is the only thing that matters. At the same time, we could’ve, should’ve been up 2-0 at Rochester. We didn’t, and goals change games. We need to be careful and consistent. I think the team has played well.
On playing with the lead…
We’re disappointed with even giving them the one, and give people cause for concern. That being said, whether it’s the back four, the front four, the front six, those are things that are coming. Do we want more consistency? Yes for sure. Our next chance at that is this Saturday, the game at Harrisburg.
Willie Hunt
On having a consistent back four…
It’s great creating bonds . It was tough in the beginning, we were switching players in and out to find the right fit, and we weren’t winning games so it was tough to get a rhythm. But as of late, I think we have been doing a lot better
On his goal…
Just go up, and put it on frame. The ball is in the air, I was behind the defender, so I have a little bit of an advantage going up and hanging up there. That’s one of my stronger assets, when the ball is in the air.
On the upcoming Keystone Derby Cup match…
Massive match. It’s our last game event. I was lucky enough to be part of last season’s game, when we won the cup. I think the fans would say that was the biggest game for us last year. I’m excited to go back up there and do it again.
Nick Thompson
On his comfort level…
For sure. I think the last few weeks, I’ve definitely started to feel more comfortable. Obviously after not playing for a number of years, to come back into things, train everyday, and play with the guys. I think after each game, I’ve gotten more and more comfortable.
I try to do whatever I can to help the team, and wherever coach wants to play me, that is where I’ll play. I’ve trained all over the place, a lot of guys have. I think a definite asset to this team, is to be able to be versatile.
On his goal…
It just kind of opened up in the middle of the field. Lebo put a good ball over top, one of the center backs was coming back to recover, I was trying to hold him off, and actually overran the ball for a second. Fortunately, it was still under my feet. At that point, I was just trying to put a shot on goal. We haven’t had a lot of those kinds of breaks this year. So it is nice to get one of those.
On the team’s recent consistent play…
I definitely think so [more consistent]. I think you can see that with our play. There has been more consistency and more cohesion within the group on the field. While we still haven’t gotten all the results we wanted, I think it is pretty clear over the last seven-eight games.
On the upcoming Keystone Derby match…
Not only is it the Keystone Derby Game, but for us to win back to back games this year, that would be something that would be a big pick me up for our group, and our team.
