USL Soccer: Pittsburgh Riverhounds Seek To Take Advantage Of Latest Home Game
By Matt Gajtka
Riverhounds back Mike Green tries to fight through aggressive Louisville City FC defending last Sunday at Highmark Stadium. (Credit: Terry O’Neill/Riverhounds.com)
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds received a gift in late January when the USL revealed that four of their first five games this season would be at home.
With that advantageous stretch almost over, you can’t blame the Hounds (1-1-2, 5 points) for feeling a bit dissatisfied with their results to date.
Although their lone road game – a come-from-behind tie April 11 at Saint Louis FC – was almost universally regarded as a positive outcome, their 1-1-1 record at Highmark Stadium so far this season represents some missed opportunities.
After an eye-opening 5-2 win over Harrisburg City Islanders on March 28, Pittsburgh dropped a contentious 2-1 decision to Rochester one week later, a game which featured an egregious officiating mistake that led to the winning goal for the visiting Rhinos.
Last Sunday’s 1-1 tie with Louisville City FC was just as painful for the Hounds, as they surrendered the tying tally in second-half stoppage time after holding a lead for most of the match.
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“We lost some composure in the last eight to 10 minutes,” said Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens after Friday’s training session. “We sat back too much after we outplayed them in the second half.”
As has often been the case in the first month of the season, the Hounds came alive against Louisville after getting more aggressive defensively. Following a tepid start against the unbeaten expansion club, Pittsburgh enjoyed most of the possession and scoring opportunities from about the midpoint of the first half all the way until the dying moments of the game.
Watch the game highlights below:
“I liked the way we played for the most part,” Steffens said. “We put more pressure on and (Louisville) started coughing the ball up more.”
Center back Fejiro Okiomah netted the lone goal against Louisville off a set-piece header, but Steffens said the Hounds’ success during the run of play was largely the result of keeping the ball on the ground, especially when forward Vini Dantas was on the receiving end of passes.
Dantas played the first 89 minutes, easily his longest run of the season after coming to the Hounds directly following the indoor soccer season. Fitness appeared to be no problem for the Brazilian newcomer, and his footwork was as refined as ever.
Midfielder Kevin Kerr generated three shots of his own at the Louisville goal, and although he hasn’t scored since his opening-night hat trick, he has arguably been Pittsburgh’s most consistent player through four weeks.
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“Kevin’s been very good,” said Steffens of the third-year Hound and native Scot. “He works hard on both sides of the ball and helps us create possession. He leads by example. I’d like to get four or five other guys up to his level.”
Goalkeeper Ryan Thompson has been on top of his game, as well. He is still searching for his first USL clean sheet, but he nonetheless has a respectable 1.50 goals-against average (six goals allowed in four games) in his first month as a Riverhound.
The lone shot that got past Thompson last Sunday was a 20-yard blast from Louisville’s Kadeem Dacres that the Pittsburgh keeper was screened on. However, the Hounds were perhaps fortunate they didn’t concede a few minutes earlier, when Thompson rejected Matt Fondy twice – once on a penalty kick and another time on the immediate rebound.
Steffens said he prefers his team to defend leads more proactively than it did against Louisville.
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“To keep a lead safe, you have to possess in the attacking side of the field,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to go to goal, but if you possess, (the other team isn’t) going to score goals.”
Pittsburgh’s back line remains compromised by injuries, as Okiomah – who Steffens calls his fastest defender – will sit out Saturday’s game against Toronto FC II due to a persistent strained quadriceps muscle.
Veteran pro Willie Hunt will join Anthony Arena in the central defense, while the continued absence of wing back Drew Russell (knee) will be countered by the likelihood that position-mate Matt Dallman (hip) sees his first action of the season.
The Hounds have faced the Toronto reserves on two previous occasions, although this is the first season that the so-called Baby Reds are a full-fledged member of USL. With as many as 33 players possibly at Toronto coach Jason Bent’s disposal, the Hounds’ preparations this week were a challenge.
“You just have to watch a few games and hope you see at least some of the same personnel,” Steffens said. “We expect their system to be similar to how their MLS team (Toronto FC) plays.
“We’ll try to put our stamp on the game and make them adjust.”
That effort will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday.