CINCINNATI (September 2, 2017) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (8-8-10) extended their unbeaten streak to five games with a spirited 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati (9-9-8) at Nippert Stadium.
Tallying the lone goal for the Hounds was Corey Hertzog in the 3rd minute, while Cincinnati’s Andrew Wiedeman netted the equalizer and final goal of the match in the 40th minute.
Pittsburgh opened the match at a breakneck pace, testing Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt with three shots on frame within the match’s first three minutes. The third take by Hertzog proved to be the charm, as the forward worked himself some space at the top of the arc to fire home a beautiful shot for the early lead.
Picking up the helper was Chevaughn Walsh, his first of the season, while the tally marked the first goal scored by the Hounds against FC Cincinnati in five matches all-time.
For Hertzog, he pushed his team-leading goal total to 11 on the season with his fourth goal in the past three matches and his 24 career goals in Black and Gold surpassed Phil Karn for the leading goal total by U.S.-born goal scorer in club history.
Back-and-forth play ensued in the aftermath of Hertzog’s tally before Cincinnati nearly equalized in the 24th minute. Creating chaos off a corner, Cincinnati attempted to ring a shot home in close, but center back Tobi Adewole from his knees kept the ball out of the net at the goal line.
An unfortunate bounce though would do in the Hounds in the final minutes of the first half. Working an impressive passing display into the box, Cincinnati’s Danni Konig attempted a back-heel flick to teammate Jimmy McLaughlin that Pittsburgh’s Taylor Washington cut off with an attempted clear. Unfortunately for the Hounds defender, his clear went directly to Wiedeman just within the 18-yard box. The Cincinnati forward wasted little time, striking a take past a diving Matt Perrella into the right side of the goal.
A scoreless second half brought plenty of action, primarily from the hosts, who held a 65-to-35 percent advantage on the possession share. The Hounds did not register a shot on goal, though had two near misses off useful takes by both Hertzog and second-half sub Kay Banjo from distance.
With the Hounds holding serve in their defensive third for much of the match’s final 45 minutes, defenders Jamal Jack, Adewole and Washington all played major roles in ensuring the club’s fifth straight unbeaten result. The defensive trio finished the game with a combined 17 clearances, five tackles and eight interceptions, as well as two blocked shots.
With the draw, the Hounds remain firmly entrenched in the playoff hunt at one point outside of the top-eight, though the club did drop from ninth to 10th in the table due to a 4-2 result in favor of New York Red Bulls II earlier today.
Pittsburgh now returns home for two straight matches at Highmark Stadium. First up will be Eastern Conference-leading Louisville City FC (14-5-5) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. Tickets to the match are still available and can be purchased at www.riverhounds.com.
Lineups:
Riverhounds – Matt Perrella – Taylor Washington, Tobi Adewole, Jamal Jack, Ritchie Duffie (Gale Agbossoumonde 69’) – Romeo Parkes (Kenroy Howell 89’), Stephen Okai, Victor Souto, Kevin Kerr – Chevaughn Walsh (Kay Banjo 69’), Corey Hertzog
Subs not used: Alex Kapp, Danny Earls, Shannon Gomez, Jack Thompson
FC Cincinnati – Mitch Hildebrandt – Harrison Delbridge, Justin Hoyte, Sem de Wit – Matt Bahner (Austin Berry 59’), Corben Bone, Kenney Walker, Josu – Danni Konig (Djiby Fall 65’), Jimmy McLaughlin (Kadeem Dacres 85’), Andrew Wiedeman
Subs not used: Dallas Jaye, Kyle Greig, Aodhan Quinn, Kevin Schindler
Scoring Summary:
PGH – Corey Hertzog – 3’ (Chevaughn Walsh)
CIN – Andrew Wiedeman – 40’
Misconduct Summary:
CIN – Mitch Hildebrandt (Caution) – 34’
CIN – Kenney Walker (Caution) – 50’
CIN – Harrison Delbridge (Caution) – 82’
PGH – Jamal Jack (Caution) – 90+’
