Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release - www.riverhounds.com
Sunday, July 26, 2009
PITTSBURGH, PA -- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds topped the Western Mass Pioneers 3-0 at Chartiers Valley Stadium Sunday afternoon in front of 832 fans, and kept their hopes for a United Soccer Leagues Second Division playoff berth alive.
Striker Randolph Jerome converted both of his penalty kick chances to seal the victory after setting Nathan Salsi up for the opener.
The Pioneers loss also clinched playoff berths for the Richmond Kickers and Harrisburg City Islanders.
After a heated match Friday night that saw three ejections, including two for the visitors, Sunday’s meeting of the Riverhounds and Pioneers started off quietly. Even so, Pittsburgh came ready to play, although the Hounds missed the net on three opportune first half attacks.
One would-be goal, just after the match started, was called off because the Hounds were offside in the second minute.
In the 40th minute, Pittsburgh had a golden opportunity on a long, sharp throw-in from the left by Jeff Hughes, who was moved out of the defensive third for this match due to a shortage of midfielders. The ball sailed directly to the head of forward Randolph Jerome, who was positioned just outside and left of the Pioneers goal box. Jerome skipped it off of his scalp on goal, but Western Mass keeper Bobby Shuttleworth was in the right spot to claim it at chest level.
In the 42nd minute, Hughes sent a perfect cross from the right side to the back post and a lunging Jerome directed it off his head outside and away.
Pittsburgh finally got on the board in stoppage time of the first half on a speedy but calculated counter attack. Jerome fielded a ball over his shoulder and carried it through the middle of the Pioneers end of the pitch. Western Mass’ defensive third, marking Jerome, forced him left and knocked him off balance. As he tumbled down, he fed the ball to defender Nathan Salsi, who banged it in to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead just before the halftime whistle sounded.
The Hounds continued with their aggressive and attacking style in the second stanza. Hughes, who was active and stellar for Pittsburgh, had several scoring and assist opportunities from the attacking left side that just missed in the second half.
The blitz paid off for the Hounds in the 75th minute. Bill Brindley, inside the Pioneers area, was taken down by Shuttleworth. Pittsburgh was awarded a penalty kick that was converted on a stutter-step blast by Jerome, putting the home side up 2-0.
The Riverhounds nearly got their third goal when Brindley, breaking down the right side in the 85th minute, directed a shot just wide to the right. He had earlier been foiled twice by the crossbar.
In the 86th minute, another Brindley shot, inside the 18-yard box was ruled a hand ball by Western Mass, and Jerome again converted a penalty for a 3-0 Pittsburgh advantage, and that’s how the game concluded.
The Riverhounds have three more home matches on consecutive Saturdays to end the regular season. The Wilmington Hammerheads visit first on Saturday August 1st at 7:05 p.m. Tickets for that match are available at www.riverhounds.com, by phone at 412-539-1191, and will be available for purchase at the gate prior to the game.
Despite picking up three points for the victory, Pittsburgh still is in 8th place in USL-2 with a record of 5-8-4 (19-points). Only the top five teams advance to the playoffs, so the Hounds still have plenty of work to do to earn a berth.
