Hounds Tie Independence, 0-0
August 18, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (12-3-8) tied the Charlotte Independence (7-9-8), 0-0, on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
The Hounds held a man-advantage for nearly half the match after Charlotte's Greg Jordan was sent off in the 58th minute for yellow card accumulation. Despite this advantage and a whopping 80-20 share in possession in the second half, Pittsburgh could not breakthrough, playing to its sixth nil-nil draw of the season.
How It Happened
The game changed in the 58th minute.
Picking up his second yellow card after a foul on Ben Zemanski, Charlotte's Greg Jordan was sent off the field and the club was forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Pittsburgh spent the remaining minutes parked in Charlotte's defensive-third, holding a 80-20 advantage in possession overall in the match's final half. No shots on frame came of the dominance in possession though, as of the six Hounds' shots recorded, four were off target and two were blocked.
Charlotte perhaps had the most dangerous chance of the night, sneakily working a shot at the top of the penalty box off the counter. Second-half substitute Jake Areman was able to create space, rolling the ball to his left foot before unleashing a shot that eluded a diving Mike Kirk and just missed the left of goal.
In the first half, the Hounds outshot the Independence, 7-4.
Pittsburgh's first shot on target came off the foot of Neco Brett in the 3rd minute. The striker chased down a ball from Kenardo Forbes behind the Charlotte backline and had his shot blocked away by goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. François recorded the Hounds' other two shots on goal in the half, but none of his opportunities could beat the Charlotte keeper.
Charlotte's lone shot on target in the first-45 minutes of play occurred in the 25th minute. Forward Caleb Calvert sent a left-footed shot at Kirk from the center of the penalty box, and the Hounds' goalkeeper successfully saved his first shot faced this season.
Man of the Match
Holding midfielder Mouhamed Dabo led the Hounds with six tackles and also added a chance created.
Stat of the Game
In his first start in USL play, goalkeeper Mike Kirk posted a clean sheet. He becomes the third different Hounds goalkeeper to record a clean sheet in his first start this season (Dan Lynd and Kyle Morton).
Beyond the Box Score
Pittsburgh notched its USL-leading 15th clean sheet of the season.
Thomas Vancaeyezeele posted a 100 percent win rate on his duels, being victorious in all nine of them.
Neco Brett saw his three-game goal streak come to a close, but he did not go down without a fight. The Jamaican forward led the Hounds with four shots, including one on target.
Kenardo Forbes once again led the way in distribution at midfield, connecting on 85 percent of his passes, including leading the club with four key passes overall. What's Next
Riverhounds SC will remain in Pittsburgh on a short week to battle the Tampa Bay Rowdies (7-10-6) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Highmark Stadium. The two sides tied their first meeting this season, 2-2, on May 19 at Al Lang Stadium.
Lineups:
Riverhounds SC - Mike Kirk - Ray Lee (Noah Franke 72'), Hugh Roberts (Romeo Parkes 85'), Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Joe Greenspan, Jordan Dover - Ben Zemanski (Dennis Chin 72'), Mouhamed Dabo - Kenardo Forbes, Christiano FranÃ- ois - Neco Brett
Subs not used: Nathan Ingham, Tobi Adewole, Andrew Lubahn, Todd Pratzner
Charlotte Independence - Andrew Dykstra - Bilal Duckett, Joel Johnson, Henry Kalungi, Sam Vines - Greg Jordan, Yann Ekra, Bertrand Owunde, Alex Martinez - Jorge Herrera (Jake Areman 46'), Caleb Calvert (Ricardo Perez 86')
Subs not used: Brandon Miller, Calvin Doum, Mutaya Mwape, Eamon Zayed
Misconduct Summary:
CLT - Greg Jordan 10' (caution)
CLT - Greg Jordan 58' (caution - red card)
Quote Sheet
Head coach Bob Lilley
On Charlotte...
"Charlotte deserves credit for defending well the whole game. We had a chance early and a few late in the first half. They were difficult to play against tonight because they did defend well."
On his message to the team...
"We just told the guys, 'look, it's disappointing, all we can do is get ready for Tampa and try to get the three points against Tampa before we go out on the road.'"
On goalkeeper Mike Kirk's performance...
"He held two balls in traffic, which isn't easy when you're 6-foot-3. But he jumps well, he got good reads on both of those balls and it was crowded. That was one of the bigger teams we played against. He looked comfortable with his feet. For me, it was a solid performance."
Goalkeeper Mike Kirk
On staying involved after Charlotte went down a man...
"Once they went down to 10 men, it was pretty quiet back there. We just pushed everyone up. So a lot of it was stay focused, stay on Greenspan and Tommy in the back to stay connected and get everyone moving."
On training...
"We train at such a high level the game was natural. All of the movements were natural. Nothing was overwhelming by any means. It was a good, solid night."
On communication with teammates...
"It carries over a lot. It's obviously easier to hear everybody at training. Out here you need to yell a bit more, but we're all on the same page when we're playing. Everyone knows where the other guy is going to be, what ball we want, where they're going to go. It's not just spoken communication, it's the nonverbal cues."
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