RICHMOND, Va. — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC left it late but scored twice in the final 20 minutes to come from behind and defeat the Richmond Kickers 2-1 at City Stadium on Saturday night. In tough conditions with lots of rain around the area to start the match, the two teams took some time to get settled, but it was the visitors who settled first. That allowed the Hounds to attack early, managing four shots in the first 20 minutes. The visitors continued to push late in the first half, but wayward shooting cost the team as the two teams went into the half scoreless. Richmond started the second half well, and a quick counterattack caught out Riverhounds SC and opened the scoring. A great run from Brian Shriver saw him get on the end of a through-ball, and he squared it for early substitute Luiz Fernando who was left with a simple tap-in. But the Hounds refused to give up and in the 72nd minute had the equalizer as a beautiful header from Kevin Kerr across the face of goal found Neco Brett, who was able to head the ball into the back of the net. The Hounds took the lead just seven minutes later when Romeo Parkes hassled for possession and stuck out his boot to beat the defense to Brett’s pass to send it past Spangenberg to silence the crowd. All hopes of a Richmond comeback were snuffed out four minutes from time when Oscar Umar was shown a red card for a nasty challenge on Ben Zemanski.

Scoring
53’ – RIC – Luiz Fernando (Brian Shriver)
72’ – PGH – Neco Brett (Kevin Kerr)
79’ – PGH – Romeo Parkes (Neco Brett)

• #RICvPGH: Highlights and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC had suffered its first defeat of the season in Wednesday’s match against Nashville SC, leaving the team eager to get back on track. Head Coach Bob Lilley doesn’t lose often, and almost never loses back-to-back games, this victory continuing a trend for Lilley, who has only lost back-to-back games three times since 2015.

• 2. The Kickers have a strong record against the Hounds, having not lost in the last four matches between the teams. By winning this match Pittsburgh arrested a three-year winless streak against Richmond, having not won since the May 23, 2015.

• 3. In seven of the last nine matches the Richmond Kickers have scored first, showing that they can start well. But worryingly for the Kickers they have been unable to hold onto those leads, a trend that needs to change quickly with three matches in eight days beginning next Saturday.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Neco Brett, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – Involved in both goals for the Hounds after coming off the bench in the 66th minute Brett completely changed the match with a goal and an assist, and a passing accuracy of 80 percent.

Upcoming Games:
Richmond Kickers vs. Charleston Battery — June 9, 7p.m. ET, City Stadium
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. New York Red Bulls II — June 16, 7p.m. ET, Highmark Stadium