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USL Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Second-Half Flurry Shoots Hounds to Victory

July 29, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release


PITTSBURGH - A second-half flurry helped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds snap their two-game skid, as the Hounds scored three times in the first 16 minutes after the break to rally for a 4-2 win over Memphis 901 FC tonight at Highmark Stadium.

Joe Farrell, Dani Rovira, J.C. Obregón and Tola Showunmi all scored for the Hounds (11-4-8), who maintained their hold on first in the Eastern Conference. Luiz Fernando and Rodrigo da Costa scored for Memphis (8-6-6), which led 2-0 after 35 minutes.

The match was littered with milestones, including two pieces of team history. Farrell's goal was the 1,000th in the Riverhounds' 24-season history, while the sellout crowd of 5,466 was the largest for a regular-season match in Highmark Stadium history.

First half

While play was even for much of the first half, the Hounds fell behind early for a third straight match in the 11th minute. Aaron Molloy threaded a low pass through the defense to Fernando, who was able to take a touch, turn and shoot from just inside the penalty area.

The visitors doubled the lead in the 35th minute from a corner kick, as Molloy served a ball to the back post, where Da Costa was first to rise to the ball and headed it home.

Danny Griffin nearly pulled a goal back for the Hounds when Kenardo Forbes fed him a low pass at the top of the box, but his curling shot was stopped by a diving save, one of four by Memphis' Drew Romig.

The Hounds broke through on the ensuing corner kick in the 41st minute, when Griffin dribbled into the box from a short corner and played the ball into traffic in front of goal. In a crowd of players, Farrell eventually booted the ball into the net to make it 2-1 and score the historic Hounds goal.

Second half

With momentum on their side, the Hounds continued to put the pressure on Memphis, and the goals started flying in.

Forbes worked his way to the goal line and sent a left-footed cross to the back post in the 49th minute. Rovira sprinted forward from his right back position and slammed a well-placed shot off the underside of the crossbar to score his first professional goal in his 98th appearance for the Hounds.

Six minutes later, Showunmi broke down the left flank after a turnover left Memphis scrambling back. He found Obregón open in front of goal, and though Romig stopped the initial shot, Obregón was first to follow up and score his first since being acquired by the Hounds at the start of the month.

Showunmi added the team's fourth in the 61st minute - scoring his second in as many games - by receiving a pass down the middle from Marc Ybarra and holding up play long enough to create room to shoot into the bottom corner of the net.

The Hounds saw out the match with their lead by limiting Memphis to one shot and zero touches inside the Hounds' box in the second half.

Heineken Man of the Match

Kenardo Forbes was another player to reach a personal milestone with his 50th assist for the Riverhounds on Rovira's tying goal, and he also was at his best moving the ball around the park tonight, connecting on 42 of 45 passes (93.3 percent), sending in five crosses and even adding a clearance on the defensive end.

What's next?

The gauntlet of tough conference matches continues at home with the third-place Tampa Bay Rowdies (11-5-5) coming to Highmark Stadium for a match next Saturday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. The Rowdies kept pace with a 3-0 win at home tonight over FC Tulsa.

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