Riverhounds SC (2-0-3) struck twice on the road at FC Cincinnati (2-1-2) this past Saturday en route to a 2-2 draw against the Eastern Conference foe. Pittsburgh found its offensive firepower from candidates who were rather new to the score sheet. As the Hounds captured a point at Nippert Stadium, here’s how both Jordan Dover and Thomas Vancaeyezeele netted their first professional goals.
6’ – Jordan Dover
From the defensive third to the offensive third, Vancaeyezeele booted a long ball for Neco Brett. The forward could not catch up to the ball, as FC Cincinnati defender Forrest Lasso used his 6-foot-5-inch frame to head it from potential danger – or at least so he thought.
Flying down the right side of the field, Dover swiped the ball away from Cincinnati. He then bolted into the 18-yard box.
In the above depiction, three FC Cincinnati defenders collapse on Dover (yellow arrow). The Ajax, Ontario native senses the pressure and elects to shoot the ball. With a lane between the middle and left foes (from Dover’s perspective), he sends the ball through this gap at the far post. Goalkeeper Evan Newton, who is stationed at the near post, attempts to save the shot, but can only get a hand on it, as he cannot make up the distance across the goalmouth in time.
The keeper’s mitt could only slow the ball, as the sphere ultimately crossed the goal line to give Dover his first career professional goal and the Hounds a 1-0 lead.
73’ – Thomas Vancaeyezeele assisted by Kenardo Forbes
Throughout his career, Kenardo Forbes has catalyzed teams with his offensive creativity. So when the midfielder dribbled into the penalty area, it was no surprise to see him shake FC Cincinnati’s Kenney Walker off the ball.
Seen above, Forbes (yellow arrow) turns toward the field after making his move along the end line. He immediately catches an open Vancaeyezeele (orange arrow), who is planted at the edge of the 18-yard box. Justin Hoyte (red arrow) does not cover Vancaeyezeele and instead jogs toward Forbes. As a result, Vancaeyezeele runs free into the box, fields the pass from Forbes and one-times a shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal.
Like Dover’s tally earlier, this was Vancaeyezeele’s first professional goal, which gave the Hounds a 2-1 advantage at the time.
The Other Side
FC Cincinnati used possession and a 77.9 percent passing accuracy to power its offensive attack. Over the course of the match, the club registered 16 open play crosses and 13 shots. To exemplify the team’s success at working meticulously, 10 of these shots – including both of its goals – were taken from inside the box.
In the 59th minute, Cincinnati’s aggressive attack jumped on a faulty Pittsburgh clearance. Corben Bone collected the ball at the top of the arc before stringing a pass to Danni Konig, who proceeded to score his first goal of the season and knot the score at 1-1.
Later in the 78th minute, Cincinnati collected another Pittsburgh clearance attempt. This time retrieving the ball inside the penalty area, Walker one-timed a shot from just beyond the penalty dot for the team’s second tally of the match, tying the score at 2-2.
Tale of the Tape
The Hounds could muster only two shots on goal against FC Cincinnati this past weekend, but the club made the most of its opportunities as both of these tries found their way into the back of the net. Pittsburgh did not rely largely on one athlete for its offensive output, as four different players combined for the team’s four chances created, which includes Forbes’ assist.
On the other hand, FC Cincinnati used consistent possession that led to its 12 chances created. For both times the club broke down the Hounds defense for goals, it took advantage of missed clearance attempts that could not advance out of Pittsburgh’s defensive third.
While a home crowd of more than 24,000 people fueled FC Cincinnati to winning the possession battle (64 percent possession), Riverhounds SC made the most of its time with the ball to come away with one point on the road.
