A brace from Rob Vincent and goals from Danny Earls and former TFC Academy product Tyler Pasher added to Kevin Kerr’s first half PK conversion, handing the Pittsburgh Riverhounds a commanding 5-1 win over a 10-man Toronto FC II.
Having been able to deal with a lot of early pressure from the Riverhounds, Mo Babouli’s goal gave the Baby Reds a surprise lead.
That lead was short lived. Tarik Robertson’s red card, which led to Kerr’s penalty, opened the floodgates in what turned out to be a long night for Jason Bent’s side.
Dealing with early pressure
The Riverhounds' experience advantage came into play from the outset. Pittsburgh dictated the pace of the game and forced Toronto to deal with pressure early and often.
Kerr, Vincent and Mike Green were able to force the the Reds back line deep and make goalkeeper Quillan Roberts work. To his credit, the TFC II keeper picked up where he left off in Vancouver by coming up with some huge saves to keep the team in the game early on.
To deal with this onslaught, Jason Bent’s men were able to find a reprieve through counter attacks.
The duo of Jordan Hamilton and Raheem Edwards were able to stretch their legs along the left wing, getting behind the Riverhounds defence and testing goalkeeper Ryan Thompson. Things were looking good as the first half wore on and the team was finding its feet, however that was short lived after Robertson took down Kerr in the box and promptly received a straight red card.
Playing with 10-men… again
Suffering the double whammy of a straight red card and conceding a PK goal came at the worst possible time. TFC II was just gaining the momentum and looked to be turning the tide of the match. The discipline issue reared its ugly head for the second straight game. Mark-Anthony Kaye received two yellow cards last week in Vancouver and was suspended for this match.
This wasn't the most ideal way for Robertson to make an impression after getting his first start for TFC II, however it’s a lesson for him, the rest of the team and the coaching staff to learn from going forward.
Having to face the adversity that came with giving up four goals in the second half, it will be interesting to see how the team comes out for the next match.
Catch Toronto FC II’s next match against Rochester Rhinos on Saturday, May 9th at 7:05PM ET. Follow along on twitter @TorontoFCII and catch the live stream //www.torontofc.ca/live.
Game Summary
Scoring Summary
TFC II – Mo Babouli 17’ (Jay Chapman)
PIT – Kevin Kerr 41’ (PK)
PIT – Robert Vincent 56’ (Kevin Kerr)
PIT – Robert Vincent 68’ (Vinicius Dantas)
PIT – Daniel Earls 71’
PIT – Tyler Pasher 89’ (Kevin Kerr)
Misconduct Summary
TFC II – Tarik Robertson 40’ (ejection)
Records:
Toronto FC II: 1-3-1 4pts.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds: 2-1-2 8pts.
Lineups
Toronto FC II – Quillan Roberts; Wesley Charpie, Skylar Thomas (Adam Bouchard 79’), Daniel Fabrizi, Tarik Robertson; Raheem Edwards, Chris Mannella ©, Jay Chapman (Massimo Mirabelli 79’), Marcos Nunes (Anthony Osorio 73’); Mo Babouli (Manuel Aparicio 45’), Jordan Hamilton (Edwin Rivas79’)
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Bono, Martin Davis
Pittsburgh Riverhounds – Ryan Thompson; Matthew Dallman (Tyler Pasher 26’), William Hunt, Anthony Arena, Sterling Flunder (Miroslav Cabrilo 75’); Daniel Earls (Anthony Virgara 90’), Michael Green, Stephen Okai (Seth C'deBaca 90’), Robert Vincent, Kevin Kerr; Vinicius Dantas (Nicholas Kolarac 88’)
Substitutes Not Used: Calle Brown, Amara Soumah
