Memphis 901 FC extend unbeaten streak to five in win over Pittsburgh

Memphis 901 FC capped off the month of May in celebratory fashion.

After beating the Pittsburgh Riverhounds by two goals, the club had their inaugural post-match firework show drawing a crowd of 3,020 to AutoZone Park.

““I enjoyed the two (fireworks) that went off when we scored more than any,” head coach Stephen Glass said. “It was a really good night.”

The goals in the 2-0 victory came from Marlon Santos and Oscar Jiménez as Memphis capitalized early in both halves.

Up against the Riverhounds who rely on their defense, 901 FC opted to use a more direct approach in their attack. It took seven minutes for the strategy to pay off as Marlon took possession from a ball lofted over the top. With all the confidence in the world, he only needed one touch before firing the ball into the bottom left corner.

“He’s had an unbelievable May,” Glass said. “It’s important that we continue but we’re delighted with him and the credit goes to him for his work rate.”

Memphis absorbed a ton of pressure from Pittsburgh for the rest of the first half with Jiménez and AB Cissoko receiving yellow cards. Glass went to his bench in the 42nd minute to respond — bringing on Carson Vom Steeg and Nighte Pickering for Dylan Borczak and Samuel Careaga.

“We were in danger of losing a goal at the end of the first half if we didn’t make a change,” Glass said. “I felt like I had to pull the trigger.”

The decision paid off as Memphis kept their lead and delivered a knockout punch right after the break. Luiz Fernando delivered a ball to Jiménez down the right wing who scored his first goal for Memphis. He was able to beat the goalkeeper at his near post despite shooting from an acute angle.

The unbeaten streak has now reached five games with Memphis sitting in third place in the Western conference standings

“We’re happy with the work we’ve done recently and we’re aware of how quick it can turn,” Glass said. “We’ll always have that in the back of our mind.”

Next Game:

Memphis will travel back to Texas to take on San Antonio FC who are winless in their last four matches. The match is Saturday, June 1st at 8pm.