In its second straight game, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (9-3-8) scored four goals in a victory, defeating Memphis 901 FC (4-10-6), 4-0, on Saturday at Highmark Stadium. The team showed great depth, as four different Hounds scored and a total of six registered at least one point.
Here’s how the Hounds grabbed three points in the showdown at home.
27’ Tobi Adewole assisted by Kenardo Forbes
The Hounds started the scoring off a corner kick from Kenardo Forbes.
The Hounds initially clear space by placing three players (circled) near the top of the penalty area. The middle one of these three athletes, Tobi Adewole, charges toward the goalmouth with the others as the ball approaches. The rest is left up to his 6-foot-3-inch frame, as he heads it past Memphis goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell to put the Hounds up 1-0.
45’+2 Robbie Mertz
One shot from beyond the penalty box led to another.
Breaking down the pitch, Steevan Dos Santos (orange arrow) blasts a shot off the crossbar, seen in the first picture. What is not seen in the first depiction, however, is Robbie Mertz (green arrow), who charges a loose rebound and faulty clearance attempt.
The rookie midfielder grabs the loose ball at the edge of the attacking third, takes a touch and fires a long, hard shot of his own on target. The sphere, which deflects off a Memphis defender, changes its path from the left side of the goal to its right side, which freezes Caldwell in his tracks to watch it roll into the net.
64’ Jordan Dover assisted by Kenardo Forbes
For the team’s third goal, the Hounds left a Memphis defender out to dry.
After receiving a pass from Kevin Kerr, Forbes holds the ball just above the 18-yard box. While the Hounds’ captain possesses the sphere, Jordan Dover (green arrow) begins a run into the penalty area, sprinting between two defenders.
Dover becomes more open when Jacob Hauser-Ramsey (red arrow) elects to approach Forbes (yellow arrow), as it leaves no one between the outside back and the goalmouth. With the space cleared, the Pittsburgh assists leader places a ball to the defender’s feet. Dover finishes it from there, putting a shot up and over Caldwell.
69’ Steevan Dos Santos assisted by Ryan James
On the break into the attacking third, Mertz (orange arrow) sends a ball forward and wide to Ryan James (yellow arrow).
Away from the ball at this time, Dos Santos (green arrow) begins to time a run between a couple of Memphis defenders. Anticipating the cross from James, the striker finds himself in ideal position to tap a shot into the net once the ball swings across the penalty area.
This tally brought the score to its final of 4-0.
Tale of the Tape
Pittsburgh held the advantage across the scoresheet. The Hounds registered 19 more total shots, 10 more shots on target and an 18 percent greater possession share. All of which propelled the squad to its 4-0 victory at home.
