Riverhounds avenge early season loss with 4-1 win over New York
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Just like that, the Riverhounds have put together their second winning streak of 2020.
Behind a goal in the first two minutes, and three in the second half, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds defeated New York Red Bulls II, 4-1, on Saturday, avenging one of their two losses this season. And they did so in convincing fashion.
“I’m really happy with what they did tonight, because we knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “The score is not indicative of how physical and competitive of a game it was, and it sets us up for next week.”
Highlights from tonight's match. #PITvNY pic.twitter.com/Hr6wwVn8vv
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) August 9, 2020
The Riverhounds (4-2-0) travel to Indianapolis next Saturday to take on Indy Eleven for the second time this season. Forward Tyler Pasher stole a victory away from Pittsburgh on July 22 when he scored a goal in the final minutes to put his team up 1-0.
Just like how most of the game went, things got started quick and fast on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
New York (2-4-0) started the match with a swift attack down the left sideline and created an early opportunity. But the pressure didn’t last long as the Riverhounds countered and quickly moved into their attacking half before striker Ropapa Mensah was taken out just inside the top of the box.
Upper St. Clair native Robbie Mertz stepped to the penalty spot almost immediately and buried his shot into the bottom right corner.
From there, the two sides battled back and forth as the Riverhounds tried to settle into their game plan. Although they only came away with one goal and managed just one shot on net, Lilley knew something was going to break.
“We weren’t great in the first half execution-wise but we battled for loose balls, we found a goal and it just took us a while to clean up what we worked on all week,” Lilley said. “Once we got into the second half and started to nail our tactics better, we knew we’d get the chances we needed.”
Those chances came early and often in the second half; just five minutes in, the Riverhounds were putting pressure on their opponents. First, Mertz fed Mensah on the right side of the goal, and the Accra, Ghana native ripped a shot that was blocked by New York’s defense.
Ten minutes later, Ryan James headed a pass to Mensah, who made a run down the left sideline and dropped it back to James, who ripped a shot from inside the box. New York goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley touched it aside for the save, but Mertz came sliding in to finish it off for his second goal of the game.
“I could see it developing down the left side, and I knew I was ahead of my guy,” Mertz said. “So, it was just a matter of maintaining that position, making sure I’m not offsides and getting to the net and making sure I got something on it and put it into the back of the net. It wasn’t anything too crazy; just gotta get in the box and make things happen.”
That goal seemed to open everything up for the Riverhounds. Mensah scored four minutes later. Then, after coming on in the 78th minute, Anthony Velarde scored his third goal of the season.
Throughout the first half, the Riverhounds tried to evade New York’s intensive pressure by playing long balls to the front that would send their forwards on runs to open space in the middle. They didn’t have the success they were hoping for, but the chances they did create helped set up their attack in the second half.
“I think the first half really enabled the second half to happen,” Mertz said. “I think (Lilley) will tell you he wasn’t really happy with the first half performance, but we really grinded and tried to wear them down. Then, in second half you’re going to see one team that’s going to kind of break, and fortunately we were able to wear them down tonight and take advantage of our chances in the second half.”
With their fourth victory of the season, the Riverhounds move into a tie for first place of Group F with Hartford Athletic, with both teams sitting at 12 points. But, as he has harped on throughout the beginning of the season, Lilley is looking for his team to improve each game, and after their performance on Saturday he knows they still have another gear to reach.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Lilley said. “If you ask any of our experienced guys, or guys who have been here for a couple years, they would tell you that we have more in the tank and we are just trying to get better every game.”