Riverhounds return to their winning ways
Following a rare loss, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC bounced back on Wednesday.
After a dropping only their third game of the season, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC bounced back Wednesday night against the Richmond Kickers, winning 3-0. The win moved them back up to 3rd in the standings, only one point back of second place Charleston Battery. Fans received all they could hope for with goals, a small scuffle, milestones, and a fan on the field.
Unlike last Saturday’s game, the Riverhounds were on the attack from the blow of the whistle, putting Richmond on their heels early. After a few deep runs, Neco Brett fired a shot from the edge of the box, beating Richmond’s Spangenberg and putting the Riverhounds up 1-0 after just the 5th minute. Hungry for more, the Riverhounds put on a barrage of runs, seeing beautiful shots on goal from Christiano Francios, Noah Franke, and Neco Brett, but Spangenberg and Richmond were able to keep the ball out of the net. Richmond finally was able to get an attack formed in the 28th minute but Giuseppe Gentile put the shot over the goal. The rest of the half sputtered on as fouls were called almost every possession.
As the second half started, Richmond became very aggressive and attacked with full force. The Riverhounds stayed composed, resulting in a counter attack and what appeared to be Neco Brett’s second tally of the night, but the linesman ruled he was offside. As the half progressed, the Riverhounds put their foot on the gas, delivering crosses and attacking runs from every angle, clearly frustrating Richmond. The frustration turned physical in the 62nd minute when Richmond’s Matthew Bolduc started shoving and shouting at Noah Franke, resulting in a short scuffle and a yellow card for Bolduc. Shortly thereafter, Neco Brett scored his 2nd goal of the night, putting the Riverhounds up 2-0 in the 69th minute.
Richmond continued to battle and try to attack, but the Riverhound’s Ben Fitzpatrick had a beautiful run and scored his first goal of the season, making the score 3-0. Although there was no more action from the teams as time winded down, there was some last minute action as a child ran onto the field and attempted to take a selfie with Riverhound’s Dan Lynd, who graciously waved off the child without missing a second of the action.
Milestones:
- With the Wednesday night’s clean sheet, Dan Lynd now holds the Riverhounds single season clean sheet record with 10.
- Ben Fitzpatrick’s goal was his first of the season, in his first appearance.
Next Time Out:
The Riverhounds look to add to the win column Saturday, Aug 4, as they face Toronto FC II at home.
The Richmond Kickers look to bounce back Saturday, August 4, as they host Bethlehem Steel FC.
