Riverhounds SC vs Bethlehem Steel FC

Game Day Updates

8:58 – that’s it — Hounds bounce back for 4-1 win in return to Highmark Stadium.

In summary — goals by Joe Greenspan and Kenardo Forbes in the first half, then Neco Brett and Jordan Dover in the second help the Hounds improve to 13-4-10, 49 points.

8:48 – Kay Banjo and Joe Holland come in for Brett and Zemanski — for the Hounds final two subs.

8:43 – GOAL – Riverhounds

Jordan Dover! What a ball in from his partner on left side — Ray Lee who chips short cross over to far post.

79′

4-1 Pgh

8:39 – GOAL – Riverhounds

Neco Brett with number 14 on the season!

Left footed finish after a nice move just inside box to get some separation from a pair of defenders! 76′

8:36 – First sub for @RiverhoundsSC

Noah Franke IN

Romeo Parkes OUT

8:30 – Steel FC on front foot past five minutes or so. Lot more possession, but Hounds snuffing everything out so far. Steel FC now on front foot past few minutes. Hounds are snuffing everything out and denying any real dangerous activity inside the box though.

70′

8:20 – Foul on edge of box — Brett knocked down.

Free kick right on the far corner of from Forbes is on frame — and McCarthy with quick reaction save to punch it out.

56′

Dabo the first into the book tonight. Picks up a yellow for a foul about 30 yards from the Hounds goal. 55′

8:15 – Parkes again with some nifty moves — gets into the box but can’t finish from left side around 6 yards out — right footed attempt slides wide right. Tough angle as keeper McCarthy did nice job taking angle away.

52′

8:10 – Romeo Parkes with a great move to cut inside defender on left side as we resume play — gets it to top of box for Ben Zemanski, who can’t quite get a solid shot on frame as he gets mixed up with Brett. 47′

8:08 – second half begins

8:02 – Halftime stats of note:

Shots – Pgh 10-1 (4-1 on target, and 9-1 inside box!)

Possession – Pgh 51-49

Corners – Pgh 3-2

Crosses – Pgh 9-7

7:50 – GOAL – Riverhounds. 2-1

Kenardo Forbes with a BLAST from outside box after Neco Brett lays ball off after running into traffic in box.

7:45 – Hounds with corner chance — goes to near post — redirected near goal but skirts by everyone. Appeared that Zemanski took it and Brett on the redirect.

38′

7:40 – GOAL, Steel FC, 1-1

James Chambers slices his PK attempt into lower left corner.

No doubt about that one.

35′

7:39 – PENALTY!

Greenspan knocks down Faris Moumbagno in box! PK coming …

34′

7:35 pm – Oh Romeo!

Forbes breaks into box — and delays for a second, then lofts a perfect pass to far side of box for Romeo Parkes. A header chance is deflected and bounces away for corner.

29′

7:34 pm – Neco Brett gets behind his mark on left side, and tries to chip one over Steel FC keeper John McCarthy — and it lands in top netting over the bar.

27′

7:22 pm – GOAL – Riverhounds – Joe Greenspan!

The big guy’s second header tally of the season, his second in three games, finishes off a nice ball in on a free kick by Ben Zemanski.

Make that two goals in three games for the USS Greenspan. And what a service from @BenZemanski. #PGHvBST pic.twitter.com/K5ZGgF77Qx — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 7, 2018

Ray Lee was fouled trying to get forward on left side — to set up the free kick.

7:16 pm – first decent build up for Hounds. Forbes gets into box, lays it off for Dover who’s shot hits side netting.

this match was moved to Friday due to Pitt-PSU tomorrow, and as we get ready for kickoff, there is a fair share of empty seats here…#PGHvBST pic.twitter.com/oxKTQOtn3K — John Krysinsky (@PghSoccerScribe) September 7, 2018

7:01 p.m. – Hounds in all black tonight, while Steel FC in white.

6:45 pm –

Hounds keeper Mike Kirk getting ready#PGHvBST pic.twitter.com/yaOovVYUp1 — John Krysinsky (@PghSoccerScribe) September 7, 2018

6:15 pm –

Riverhounds Starting XI

GK – Mike Kirk

D – Joe Greenspan, Tobi Adewole, Thomas Vancaeyezeele

MF – Kenardo Forbes, Ben Zemanski, Mouhamed Dabo, Jordan Dover, Ray Lee

F – Neco Brett, Romeo Parkes

Available subs

Nathan Ingham (G), Andy Lubahn, Hugh Roberts, Joe Holland, Ben Fitzpatrick, Noah Franke, Kay Banjo

Bethlehem Steel FC Starting XI

GK – John McCarthy

D- Prosper Chiluya, Brandon Aubrey, Matt Mahoney, Olivier Mbaizo

MF – James Chambers (c), Drew Skundrich, Brenden Auroson, Marcus Epps, Michee Ngalina

F – Faris Moumbagno

Available subs

Tomas Romero (G), Chris Nanco, Santi Moar, Aidan Apodaca, A.J. Paterson, Ben Ofeimo

PREVIEW

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (12-4-10, 46 points)

vs Bethlehem Steel FC (12-11-6, 42 points)

Highmark Stadium – 7 p.m.

FOLLOW:

Twitter: @Pghsoccerscribe | #PGHvBST |

Stats: USL Match Center

PSN Coverage:

I’ll be at Highmark Stadium on Friday. We’ll post any pre-game news here on this thread, and of course starting lineups in-game updates as well.

KEY STORYLINES

• If Riverhounds SC head coach Bob Lilley and his players had their way, he would have moved this game up a few days earlier. The Hounds are really eager to get back on the field, and glad to be back home after a disappointing two-game road swing at Indianapolis and Cincinnati which they only picked up one point.

• A troubling theme for the Hounds the past four games has been that they’ve been failing to hold second half leads. The Hounds held a one-goal advantage in each of their last three games but conceded second-half goals that resulted in dropped points against FC Cincinnati, Indy Eleven and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Pittsburgh will have to be aware of another late surge on Friday night as Bethlehem has scored 31 of its 49 goals this season in the second half.

• This is the second and final meeting time the Hounds and Steel FC will meet this season. The previous meeting saw the Hounds prevail 2-1 on the road on Aug. 12. Pittsburgh holds a 3-2-2 edge all-time in head-to-head action and a win on Friday would mark the first season sweep by either side. The Hounds have not lost to either PA team yet this season (played to two scoreless draws vs Penn FC way earlier in the season).

WHAT’S AT STAKE

• The Hounds currently sits in third place on 46 points, but can leapfrog Louisville City FC (47 points) for second ahead of LouCity’s clash against conference-leading FC Cincinnati on Saturday.

• Bethlehem are in the thick of the race too. They’ve accumulated 42 points – good for sixth in the Eastern Conference standings – but has played more games than any of the teams chasing it for a berth in the USL Cup Playoffs. Steel FC has just five games remaining and will need to take as many points as possible in those limited opportunities to fend off potential late-season charges from Ottawa, North Carolina and Penn.

MORE ON BETHLEHEM STEEL FC

Steel FC have won its past four games on the road, outscoring opponents by a 10-to-1 margin. With a total of six road wins this season, Steel FC have matched its franchise best with a 2-1 victory over Nashville SC at First Tennessee Park on the team’s most recent road trip.

Justin Ashcraft from the MonGoals crew caught up with USL Show’s Evan Villella in the latest Preview Podcast.

PREVIEW POD: Riverhounds vs Bethlehem Steel FC

Mark Goodman, aka Riverhounds Rabbi, will also be sharing his latest Scouting Report on Steel FC on Friday.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

????: "I think we're playing at a high standard, and we're looking forward to having a good homestand." Hear what Coach Lilley had to say ahead of #PGHvBST. pic.twitter.com/2BRuBgVPEH — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 6, 2018

Steel FC Head Coach Brendan Burke says his team will play with an attacking mindset on Friday night.

“They have conceded three goals at home all season so it’s an uphill battle, but you have to swing away. Nashville had only conceded three at home and we scored twice and took an important result. That will be my mentality and I think the boys are the same way.”

TEAM RECORDS

Bethlehem Steel FC overall record: 12-11-6

Bethlehem Steel FC road record: 6-7-1

Streak: L1

Pittsburgh overall record: 12-4-10

Pittsburgh home record: 7-2-5

Streak: L1

HOUNDS INJURY REPORT

Dennis Chin – Out (Groin)

Kevin Kerr – Out (Calf)

Dan Lynd – Out (Head)

Kyle Morton – Out (Lower-body)

RECENT HEAD-TO-HEAD

Aug. 12, 2018, at Goodman Stadium

Pittsburgh 2, Bethlehem Steel FC 1

Scoring Summary:

PGH – Neco Brett 35’ (Kenardo Forbes)

BST – Chris Nanco 52’ (Santi Moar)

PGH – Neco Brett 79’ (Christiano François)

Sept. 24, 2017, at Goodman Stadium

Bethlehem Steel FC 3, Pittsburgh 2

Scoring Summary:

BST – Adam Najem 5’ (Santi Moar)

BST – Cory Burke 8’ (Adam Najem)

BST – Cory Burke 37’ (Jake McGuire)

PGH – Corey Hertzog 40’ (penalty)

PGH – Corey Hertzog 64’ (Chevaughn Walsh)

SEASON LEADERS

Pittsburgh

Goals: Neco Brett (13)

Assists: Kenardo Forbes (8)

Points: Neco Brett (30)

Saves: Dan Lynd (35)

Save %: Dan Lynd (.761)

GAA: Dan Lynd (0.58)

Bethlehem Steel FC

Goals: Santi Moar (6)

Assists: Santi Moar (8)

Points: Santi Moar (20)

Saves: Jake McGuire (62)

Save %: John McCarthy (.762)

GAA: John McCarthy (1.00)

LAST TIME OUT…

Pittsburgh

FC Cincinnati 2, Pittsburgh 1

SCORING SUMMARY:

PGH – Romeo Parkes 57’ (Kenardo Forbes)

CIN – Dekel Keinan 80’ (Emmanuel Ledesma)

CIN – Fanendo Adi 88’ (Kenney Walker)

LINEUP:

Mike Kirk – Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Tobi Adewole, Joe Greenspan (Dennis Chin 90’), Hugh Roberts, Jordan Dover – Romeo Parkes (Ben Zemanski 78’), Mouhamed Dabo, Kenardo Forbes, Christiano François (Neco Brett 70’) – Kay Banjo

Bethlehem Steel FC

Penn FC 3, Bethlehem Steel FC 1

SCORING SUMMARY:

BST – Marcus Epps 10’ (Fabian Herbers)

PEN – Aaron Dennis 32’ (Miguel Jaime)

PEN – Lucky Mkosana 40’ (Paulo Junior)

PEN – Paulo Junior 59’ (Aaron Dennis)

LINEUP:

Jake McGuire – Prosper Chiluya, Brandon Aubrey, Matthew Mahoney, Olivier Mbaizo – James Chambers, Drew Skundrich – Marcus Epps (Michee Ngalina 80’), Brenden Aaronson (Chris Nanco 70’), Fabian Herbers – Faris Pemi Moumbagna (Santi Moar 60’)

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