NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 21, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (14-4-10) tied Nashville SC (16-7-7), 0-0, on Saturday at First Tennessee Park.
Playing the final 50 minutes of the match down a man due to a red card issued to Tobi Adewole in the 40th minute, the Hounds held strong. Goalkeeper Kyle Morton led the way to the shutout and road point, collecting four saves throughout the match.
“I think the response was great,” head coach Bob Lilley said. “We competed well in the second half. Nashville has a lot of experienced guys and they were patient and made us do a lot of running.
“I thought we played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort, and made a lot of good plays. They asked a lot of us, and we had the ability to compete well and come out with a draw, which is important to us.”
First Half
Only one shot on target occurred in the first half.
Coming off the right foot of Nashville’s Daniel Rios in the 11th minute, Morton made an excellent diving save to keep the score nil-nil.
Not much action resulted through the remainder of the half in terms of shots, but a key moment of the match fell in the 40th minute, when Adewole was shown a red card for a slide-tackle foul.
At the half, possession was split even at 50 percent apiece.
Second Half
The second half belonged to Morton.
After the Hounds held Nashville without a shot on target for the first 35 minutes of the second half, the opposition would rack up three takes on frame in the game’s final 10 minutes. Morton came up large on every occasion, making diving saves and aggressive stops.
The Hounds had a chance to break the nil-nil tie late, as second-half substitute Christian Volesky had a breakaway in the match’s waning minutes. However, he could not quite free up space in the penalty box, as Nashville goalkeeper Matt Pickens came off his line to steal the ball away.
The match would end in a 0-0 draw.
Hound of the Match
Kyle Morton made huge saves down the stretch to keep the clean sheet. The goalkeeper registered four saves, including three in the game’s final 10 minutes.
Stat of the Game
With the draw, the Hounds’ magic number to postseason berth falls to two.
What’s Next
Riverhounds SC stays in Tennessee to battle Memphis 901 FC (8-13-7) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at AutoZone Park. The Hounds earlier defeated the USL Championship newcomer, 4-0, on home turf this season.
Lineups:
Riverhounds SC – Kyle Morton – Ryan James, Tobi Adewole, Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Joe Greenspan, Jordan Dover – Robbie Mertz (Todd Pratzner 45′), Kenardo Forbes, Mouhamed Dabo – Steevan Dos Santos (Kevin Kerr 84′), Neco Brett (Christian Volesky 73′)
Subs not used: Austin Pack, Noah Franke, Sammy Kahsai, Anthony Velarde
Nashville SC – Matt Pickens – Justin Davis, Jimmy Ockford, Ken Tribbett, Bradley Bourgeois (Alan Winn 45′), Darnell King – Lebo Moloto, Boluwatife Akinyode, Matt LaGrassa, Kharlton Belmar (Tucker Hume 72′) – Daniel Rios (Cameron Lancaster 76′)
Subs not used: Connor Sparrow, Derrick Jones, Kosuke Kimura, Taylor Washington
Misconduct Summary:
PIT – Tobi Adewole 40′ (ejection)
PIT- Jordan Dover 76′ (caution)
