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Second Leg of Keystone Stays Level

By CHARLIE CORR - charlie.corr@uslsoccer.com, 05/24/17, 8:30PM EDT

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Harrisburg, Pittsburgh play to scoreless draw at FNB Field


Photo courtesy of Harrisburg City Islanders

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The second leg of the Keystone Derby wound up empty on the score sheet as the Harrisburg City Islanders and Pittsburgh Riverhounds played to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday at FNB Field. Pittsburgh had the lead in the derby after earning a 1-0 victory on April 29 at Highmark Stadium. The third leg takes place on Aug. 12 in Harrisburg. Pittsburgh will certainly take the road point, moving to 2-1-2 away from Highmark and now 4-4-3 (15 points) overall. Harrisburg is now 1-0-3 at home and 2-3-4 (10 points) overall.

Scoring:
None

Three Things That Mattered:

  • 1. The City Islanders had a couple of attacking setbacks among their personnel that forced Head Coach Bill Becher into a pair of subs. The primary one was Jamaican forward Cardel Benbow, who left with a leg injury. He and Riverhounds right back Taylor Washington challenged for a loose ball, but it wasn’t the shoulder-to-shoulder play that caused Benbow to pull up. He appeared to injure his hamstring and signaled to the bench to come out immediately in the 37th minute, eventually replaced with Frederick Opoku. Then to start the second half, Aaron Wheeler was subbed out for Pedro Ribeiro. Wheeler was hobbling after he was called for a foul in the 34th minute; he finished out the half and was subbed out for precautionary reasons.

  • 2. Wheeler had Harrisburg’s only strong scoring chance in the first half, a 35th-minute breakaway in which Pittsburgh’s Jamal Jack made a crucial deflection on Wheeler’s attempt from 11 yards out. Jack bailed out a poor 50-50 read from Joe Greenspan that allowed Wheeler to start the attack. For the match, the City Islanders put just three shots on frame.

  • 3. Pittsburgh’s offense also was incredibly quiet, and with the City Islanders’ Sean Lewis making his debut in goal, the visiting side did little to test the 25-year-old. Romeo Parkes had the first strong chance, trying to sneak a shot by Lewis at the near right post in the seventh minute, which Lewis had covered well for the save. Outside of that, it was a quiet night for Lewis. Corey Hertzog, who had a goal the first time around against the City Islanders, had a limited impact in this second leg. In the 90th minute, he had a potential opening from the left side, but his right-footed attempt toward the far post was placed well wide and high.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Jonny Mendoza, Harrisburg City Islanders –
Mendoza was one of the more consistent cogs Wednesday night with some strong setup work and set-piece deliveries. Harrisburg had a hold of the midfield battle, which tended to keep the Riverhounds far away from the visitors’ attacking end.

Upcoming Games:
Harrisburg City Islanders
at Bethlehem Steel FC – May 28, 5 p.m. ET, Goodman Stadium
Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Orlando City B – June 3, 7 p.m. ET, Highmark Stadium

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