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Confidence Starting to Flow in Pittsburgh

By CHRIS HOCKMAN – chris.hockman@uslsoccer.com, 08/24/17, 3:02PM EDT

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Riverhounds' recent surge has the side back in the playoff hunt ahead of Steel FC clash


Photo courtesy Mark Guthrel / Saint Louis FC

PITTSBURGH  – After being out of the playoff picture for much of the 2017 USL regular season, a big win against Saint Louis FC this past weekend has brought the Pittsburgh Riverhounds back to the table.

Two consecutive victories have given the Riverhounds new-found belief that they will be part of the postseason for the fourth time in the club's USL history after missing out a season ago.

“We certainly feel better than we did three weeks ago, when it was looking tough,” said longtime Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr. “As of now it’s out of our hands, a couple of teams have games in hand on us. We feel if we can focus on our next few games we can be in an even stronger position.”

Things seem to have started coming together for Pittsburgh, with Kerr one player whose performance reflects that. Kerr has managed to create 47 chances for the Riverhounds, far and away the best on the team and tied for the league lead with Reno 1868 FC's Chris Wehan. Kerr;'s 129 crosses also place him in the top 10 in the USL, and his accuracy rate is trending up at 28.6 percent. If Kerr's teammates start connecting more consistently, the Riverhounds could be a real threat.

“We’ve got the quality to beat any team in the league and I think we’ve proven that,” said Kerr. “But we’ve also had days where we’ve been beaten by some weak teams, or we’ve underperformed. We just need to find that consistency, and take the form from the last two games, I’m quietly confident that we can do that. I think there is that confidence in the team now.”


Photo courtesy Chris Cowger / Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Riverhounds Head Coach Dave Brandt agrees. Having come aboard midway through the 2016 season, the team now has the former Navy Head Coach's imprint across the board, which is helping bring the team's chemistry together.

“I said to coaching colleagues the week leading up to Harrisburg that I felt like we were getting real synergy and things were really clicking," said Brandt. "That was a 3-0 win, and then we were able to go on the road, in Saint Louis, a tough place to play, and grind out a win as well. That sort of stuff is very tenuous, the important thing for us is keep our nose to the grindstone and doing what we do.”

The Riverhounds have alternated reaching the playoffs in odd years and missing out in even ones. In theory, that would make them due in 2017. Kerr has been through this before, having been with the club since 2013, and sees similarities to when the club reached the postseason last.

“This is exactly how it felt two years ago, when we were just outside the playoffs and we hit a run of form and snuck in,” said Kerr. “Unfortunately we lost in extra time in the playoffs, but in terms of the season we hit our stride at the right time.”

A big part of that push to the playoffs is going to be improving an average home record, currently sitting at 3-5-3. With five of their final eight games of the season at Highmark Stadium, that record will have to improve if the playoffs are to be a realistic goal.

“I don’t know what it is," said Brandt. "We’ve had some wins at home, we beat Tampa here but by and large we seem to pick up points on the road. It’s one of the things we’re going to have to kick, no one wants it, no one likes it.”


Photo courtesy G. Evans / Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Kerr goes one step further.

“I think our home record is why we are where we are," he said. "It’s been poor this year, you always want to get off to a flyer at home, and we didn’t. You want to make your home ground a fortress and we didn’t, we’ve really struggled, that’s why we are where we are."

That makes the Riverhounds' clash with Bethlehem Steel FC at Highmark Stadium this Saturday critical. Sitting three points back of seventh-place Bethlehem going in, the Riverhounds have a big opportunity against their in-state rivals.

Anything less than three points, however, and the incline on what it already an uphill battle will become that much steeper.

"If we can change our home form starting this Saturday," said Kerr, "we’re confident we can go anywhere.”

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