PITTSBURGH – CJ Olney and Abdoulaye Kanté scored second-half goals to lift Brooklyn FC to a 2-0 win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at F.N.B. Stadium on Saturday night as both sides ended down to 10 players and the visitors broke a seven-game winless streak.

The Hounds had the better of much of the first half but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Robbie Mertz fired just wide of the right post in the 14th minute before Eliot Goldthorp was denied by BKFC goalkeeper Lukas Burns a couple of minutes later. Brooklyn offered little to test Pittsburgh’s Nico Campuzano, a long-range effort by Jaden Servania the only shot on target for the visitors in the first half as the game went to the break scoreless.

Brooklyn broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half, however, as CJ Olney produced a spectacular strike from 20 yards that flew into the top-left corner of the net. Pittsburgh almost hit back in the 65th minute when Goldthorp’s close-range finish was saved by Burns before being cleared out of the six-yard area by his defense, but after both sides were reduced to 10 players with 14 minutes to go as Pittsburgh’s Albert Dikwa and Stefan Stojanovic were sent off, the visitors wrapped up the result in stoppage time when Abdoulaye Kanté poked home a low finish.

Takeaways

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – The hosts created the better chances on the night but were unable to take advantage of them as they saw a four-game undefeated streak in the league come to an end. The Hounds have now been held scoreless in consecutive league contests after posting four consecutive shutouts previously, keeping the defending titleholders in the lower portion of the playoff places in the East.

Brooklyn FC – The visitors had to weather a tough first half in which 42 percent of the play came in its defensive third but CJ Olney’s wonderful strike early in the second half finally got Brooklyn on track and in the win column for the first time in league play since April. With a third victory in the league under their belt, BKFC can now prepare for its meeting with Rhode Island FC in the Prinx Tires USL Cup next weekend with a little more confidence.