PITTSBURGH (June 22, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (4-2-7) defeated New York Red Bulls II (9-4-2), 3-0, on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.
Neco Brett opened the scoring with a tally in the first half, and Steevan Dos Santos and Thomas Vancaeyezeele both notched tallies in the second half. Goalkeeper Kyle Morton posted the clean sheet for the Hounds.
First Half
Red Bulls II paced the opening 15 minutes of the match, firing off three shots during that timespan.
Noah Franke set up a dangerous opportunity in the 24th minute but was unable to connect with the streaking Dos Santos and Brett, as the ball sailed through the box.
Just four minutes later, Morton shut down a Red Bulls II chance to keep the score knotted at 0-0. Morton would go on to finish the half with three total saves.
In the 40th minute, a chip shot from Brett broke the tie and gave the Hounds a 1-0 advantage. Dos Santos played a brilliant ball to the Jamaican, and Brett lofted the chance into the back of the net.
The Hounds fought off New York for the remainder of the first half and carried the lead into the break.
Second Half
The Hounds continued their initial attack from the first half, outperforming Red Bulls II offensively and on the scoreboard.
Pittsburgh came out blazing with an initial scoring opportunity in the second half. In the 51st minute, a corner kick from Kenardo Forbes set up Dos Santos with a header inside the six-yard box, extending the Riverhounds lead to 2-0.
The Riverhounds were not done quite yet, scoring in similar fashion in the 58th minute. A corner kick from Forbes set up a header from Dos Santos in the six-yard box. Instead, New York’s goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu saved the initial shot but gave up a rebound opportunity in front. Vancaeyezeele buried the rebound, pushing the Hounds lead to 3-0.
Action on the pitch became chippy as Red Bulls II midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi committed two fouls within a three period, earning the New York player a red card. A persistent infringement in the 63rd minute and an elbowing foul in the 65th minute resulted in Koffi’s ejection from the match.
The Riverhounds attempted to play keep away from New York’s strikers for the duration of the match. With New York being a player down for the rest of the match, it was difficult for Red Bulls II to put consistent scoring chances together.
The Riverhounds ended the match being out-possessed by New York 56 percent to 44 percent but made the most of their opportunities tallying three goals on their 11 total shots.
Hound of the Match
Kyle Morton has put together two consecutive stellar performances for the Riverhounds. He has earned shutouts in back-to-back wins for Pittsburgh, collecting five total saves tonight against Red Bulls II.
Stat of the Game: 9
With Saturday night’s goal from Neco Brett, he is now only the ninth player in Riverhounds history to record 20 goals or more while playing for the Black and Gold.
What’s Next
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will be back in action at 7 p.m. next Saturday, hosting Birmingham Legion FC (3-8-3) at Highmark Stadium. This will mark Celebration of Cultures Night.
Lineups:
Riverhounds SC – Kyle Morton – Ryan James, Tobi Adewole, Joe Greenspan, Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Noah Franke – Robbie Mertz, Kenardo Forbes, Kevin Kerr (Anthony Velarde 83’) – Neco Brett (Christian Volesky 75’), Steevan Dos Santos (Mark Forrest 75’)
Subs Not Used: Austin Pack, Uchenna Uzo, Dani Rovira, Sammy Kahsai
New York Red Bulls II – Rashid Nuhu – Allen Yanes, Preston Kilwien, Jordan Scarlett, Rece Buckmaster (Edgardo Rito 78’) – Jean Koffi, Chris Lema, Kyle Zajec – Cristian Casseres (Janos Loebe 73’), Ben Mines (Sebastian Elney 78’), Jared Stroud
Subs Not Used: Miguel Silva, Sean Nealis, Amarildo de Souza
Scoring Summary:
PIT – Neco Brett 40’ (Steevan Dos Santos)
PIT – Steevan Dos Santos 51’ (Kenardo Forbes)
PIT – Thomas Vancaeyezeele 58’
Misconduct Summary:
NY – Jean Koffi 63’ (caution)
NY – Jean Koffi 65’ (caution, ejection)
NY – Kyle Zajec 90’ (caution)
Head coach Bob Lilley
On what has changed in the last two games…
“The last few teams we played send a lot of guys forward and they leave a lot of space. We’ve done a good job of finding outlets and getting in behind teams early, if they are going to take that much risk then we have to get our outlets and be aggressive you know trying to create those chances. We didn’t create a lot in the first half but I thought we found the right balls and found some balls in the box.”
About the same starting line up…
“To me it wasn’t a great first half. We were okay on some of the team tactics. We actually went over it at half time what we worked on all week because I felt like we didn’t nail it. I thought second half we were better.”
On Robbie Mertz…
“He’s getting there, he trains well. Tonight it was difficult for him at times as many players as they put around humbug he’s been good, he’s been consistent in training and in the games. Do the work but he helps our possession game.”
Forward Steevan Dos Santos
On the team’s recent play…
“It’s great when the team is winning. We knew that at the beginning [of the season] that we had some ties that we shouldn’t have had. The game before, and this game, everything came together. We scored a lot of goals, and didn’t concede goals.”
On his elevated performance in the last two games…
“I said before, sometimes the ball doesn’t want to go in. Sometimes, it starts going in. I scored last week, I scored again, I hope it continues like this.”
On his assist to Neco Brett…
“We have to see the movement of each other. I saw [Brett], he was running and there was a big gap between the defender. I just put the ball there and he scored a wonderful goal.”
On his goal…
“I ran near post and the ball came straight to my head. I just head to put my head out and direct to the goal.”
Goalkeeper Kyle Morton
On his three saves in the first half…
“They’re a good team. They’re really dynamic in the attacking third, we knew that coming in. I thought the guys, the back five and the three in the midfield did a really good job. In the first half when they had a lot of pressure, they did a really good job of keeping them at bay.”
On his recent performance…
“It’s just getting confidence back. I just feel like I’m playing like myself again, like I did last year before my surgery. The guys are giving me a lot of confidence too. They’re making it really easy for me in the last couple of games.”
On the team’s consecutive wins…
“I think we’re getting closer to where we want to be at. I think the last couple results have really showed who we are. Five goals last game, three goals tonight, two clean sheets, not giving up too many chances, I think it’s two really good team performances and we just keep building off results.”
