PITTSBURGH (August 5, 2017) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (5-8-9) and Richmond Kickers (3-11-8) played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.
Pittsburgh’s lone goal came from midfielder Stephen Okai, his first of the season, in the 82nd minute, while Richmond struck first by way of Raul Gonzalez in the 65th minute.
Early on, the Kickers controlled the pace of play, owning 72 percent of possession through the first 15 minutes and attempting two shots on goal.
The Hounds’ best chance in the first half came in the 28th minute. Midfielder Kevin Kerr received a pass just in front of the Richmond bench and found forward Corey Hertzog deep in the box. Hertzog one-touched Kerr’s pass, but the ball sailed over goalkeeper Matt Turner and the net out of play.
At halftime, the Hounds narrowed Richmond’s possession advantage to 52 percent, but neither team had scored despite two shots apiece.
In the second half, a defensive lapse by Pittsburgh allowed Richmond to take the lead in the 65th minute. Midfielder Yudai Imura received a pass with space just past the halfway line and moved up 15 yards into the box uncovered. As he entered, the defense converged on him and left Gonzalez open to the left of Imura. Gonzalez faked with his left foot and shot with his right foot into the right side of the net.
The Hounds finally responded with eight minutes to go in regulation after several close chances. Midfielders Kerr and Victor Souto exchanged several back-and-forth passes to each other in Richmond’s defensive third with Souto eventually turning toward the net to find Okai inside the 18-yard box. Okai one-touched his reception of the pass with his left foot past Paddy McCann before finishing with his right foot.
The goal marked Okai’s first tally since July 30, 2016, a 4-1 victory over Wilmington Hammerheads FC.
In stoppage time, the Hounds had a chance to get the go-ahead marker, as Chevaughn Walsh camped out near the back post on a corner kick. Preparing to receive the pass, Walsh appeared to be taken down after some physical contact, but no call was made on the play.
Despite the slow start, Pittsburgh won the possession battle with a 57-43 percent edge. Additionally, the Hounds won 63 percent of duels and outshot Richmond, 12-6.
Goalkeeper Trey Mitchell started in back-to-back matches for the first time since starting 10 games in a row from April 15 to June 17. Mitchell stopped three of four shots on net.
With the draw, the Hounds moved to 3-5-3 at home and are now only three points out of a playoff spot.
Pittsburgh is back in action next weekend, as the club looks to recapture the Keystone Derby Cup, presented by K&L Gates and the Pennsylvania Lottery, against the Harrisburg City Islanders at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 at FNB Field. For more information on the Hounds’ next match, visit www.riverhounds.com.
Lineups:
Riverhounds – Trey Mitchell – Taylor Washington, Jamal Jack, Tobi Adewole, Marshall Hollingsworth – Jack Thompson (Romeo Parkes 45’), Danny Earls (Victor Souto 68’), Stephen Okai, Kevin Kerr – Chevaughn Walsh, Corey Hertzog
Subs not used: Keasel Broome, Gale Agbossoumonde, Shannon Gomez, Ritchie Duffie, Kay Banjo
Richmond Kickers – Matt Turner – Braeden Troyer, Jalen Robinson, Mallan Roberts (Conor Shanosky 57’), William Yomby – Patrick McCann, Oscar Umar, Sunny Jane (Anthony Grant 77’), Yudai Imura (Luiz Fernando 77’) – Matt Bolduc, Raul Gonzalez
Subs not used: Marcel Debelis, Fred Owusu Sekyere, Franck Tayou, Finnlay Wyatt
Scoring Summary:
RIC – Raul Gonzalez 65’ (Yudai Imura)
PGH – Stephen Okai 82’ (Victor Souto)
Misconduct Summary:
PGH – Danny Earls 40’ (caution)
Cleveland Brother’s “Blue Collar Player of the Game”
Quote Sheet
Head coach Dave Brandt
On scoring the equalizer…
“I’m proud of the guys for hanging in there, fighting back. I think we had to get that goal – good goal from Stephen and Victor. I think by the time it came – it was coming, it was about time – and we were all on the edge of our seat.”
On the team’s center backs…
“I thought Jamal [Jack] in particular was a beast tonight. I thought he was very good. I thought Tobi was good, too.”
On the Eastern Conference table…
“Still 30 points left on the table for us, but we’ve given away two points in a lot of games – maybe four of the last six with those five draws. I think we have the right to expect of ourselves in three or four of those draws easily to say ‘hey, that one was there for the win.’”
Midfielder Stephen Okai
On his goal…
“Victor had good vision and I knew he was going to slip me in, so I tried to push forward a little bit. When I got the touch, I was like ‘wow, I have to do everything I can to put the ball in.’”
On Romeo Parkes…
“When Romeo is in the game, he helps us a lot – like keeping possession with the ball. So when he came on, we started keeping the ball a lot, which helped us more with going forward.”
On pushing forward this season…
“I will tell you guys nothing good comes on a silver platter and every good thing that’s going to happen you have to go through ups and downs. That doesn’t mean that we should give up. We will keep on fighting. You never know. Anything can happen at any given point. We’re going to keep fighting and we’re going to keep pushing until we get to where we want to be.”
