Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release -- www.riverhounds.com
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds needed overtime to defeat Chattanooga FC in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup. Jason Yeisley and Stefan Lundberg scored second-half goals for the Riverhounds, who had trailed 2-0 midway through the second half, to force an additional 30 minutes of play, and then second-year Riverhound Jeremy Deighton delivered the game-winner off a rebound in the 99th minute to provide the home side with a 3-2 advantage.
A physical challenge in the middle third gave Chattanooga the lead in the 14th minute of play. Chattanooga midfielder Ivan Heredia received the bouncing ball nearly 40 yards from goal and struck a looping shot over Hunter Gilstrap for the game’s first goal.
Following the break, Chattanooga would press forward down the right side and add to their lead. A strong possession by Chattanooga forward Chris Ochieng deep inside the Riverhounds defensive third landed him an opportunity to slot a pass back for Mark Beattie. Slashing through the penalty area, Beattie needed one touch to find the back of the net in the 55th minute.
A corner kick awarded to the Riverhounds in the 79th minute resulted in Yeisley heading home a service from Tommy Gray. A well driven ball to the back post by Gray was redirected by Yeisley to cut the Chattanooga lead in half.
With one minute remaining in regulation the Riverhounds would find the equalizer and force overtime. A diagonal pass from midfield was picked up by Gilstrap. Cleanly striking a drop kick, Gilstrap caught Chattanooga in transition providing Lundberg the space needed to bury a shot past Thomas Hunter.
The Riverhounds would then take the lead nine minutes into the first half of overtime when a hand ball by a Chattanooga defender gave the Riverhounds a set piece twenty five yards from goal. Gray rifled a bending right-footed shot around the wall forcing Hunter to dive to his right and parry the ball away from goal. Crashing the net with speed, Deighton slid the rebound past Hunter to score what would prove to be the decisive goal.
The Riverhounds will travel to face the Richmond Kickers next Tuesday for the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at City Stadium.