Friday, July 20, 2012
PITTSBURGH -- On a cool Friday night, the Harrisburg City Islanders took a 2-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the third and final meeting of the Keystone Derby this season. The City Islanders received a goal in the fourth minute from Tom Mellor and one from Lucky Mkosana late on. With the win, the City Islanders remain in fifth place in the USL PRO standings.
The City Islanders took an early lead when J.T. Noone played a long diagonal ball for Garret Pettis streaking down the left flank. Outpacing his marker to the end-line, Pettis cut the ball back towards the top of the penalty area for an onrushing Mellor, who took a first-time shot with his left foot and whistled his effort just inside the near upright past Riverhounds goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap.
The two sides exchanged equal possession throughout the remainder of the first half. The Riverhounds would create a handful of scoring opportunities, but their attempts would be stifled by Harrisburg goalkeeper Nick Noble.
Coming out of the halftime break, the intensity on the field began to pick up. Physical tackles and quick counter-attacks became the norm as the game’s tempo increased, creating space for the teams to move the ball with ease. The Riverhounds got their best scoring opportunity when Matt Kassel played a through-ball into the right corner for Stefan Lundberg. Turning his marker inside out with a crafty touch inside, Lundberg fired a low left-footed shot towards the near post, beating a diving Noble, but trickling just outside the near post.
The City Islanders added an insurance goal in the 85th minute when Sainey Tourey picked off a pass at midfield. Dribbling past his marker, Tourey forced Gilstrap off his line and into a one-on-one opportunity. Lifting a shot over Gilstrap, Tourey’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar and back to the feet of Mkosana. Bringing the bouncing ball down with confidence, Mkosana passed the ball into the open net to put the Islanders up by two goals.
The Riverhounds travel overnight to meet the Rochester Rhinos tomorrow night at Sahlen’s Stadium. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:05 p.m. The City Islanders return to Skyline Sports Complex on City Island next Saturday to host the Los Angeles Blues for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
