Riverhounds fall to Tampa Bay in season opener

The defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies blanked the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 3-0, in the local team’s season opener Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“It was a good measuring stick for us,” Hounds coach Bob Lilley said. “You’re not going to learn a lot more from a game than we did today.”

The Rowdies (2-0-0) got goals from Steevan Dos Santos (31st minute), a former Riverhounds forward, as well as Sebastian Guenzatti (75th minute) and Jordan Abebayo-Smith (84th minute).

“We needed to connect more passes,” Lilley said. “We were caught on the dribble too much, and they were quicker in the match. I don’t think we played particularly well, and we had a lot of turnovers on the ball.

“We didn’t do good in transition moments, either, getting to the second ball. But Tampa was sharp, and we knew they would be coming off a 3-0 win last week against Charlotte. They forced us into a lot of longer-type balls.”

Jordan Dover was named the Hounds Man of the Match with six tackles, three key passes and two on-target crosses.

“I thought our reserves came on and gave us good energy when they came on,” Lilley said. “We had a couple of good chances in the second half. Tommy (Williamson) made a good run into a very dangerous space, and (Jordan) Dover hit a good cross from the right. Alex Dixon got in behind once for us.

“For me, being level at halftime or getting level early in the second half, maybe we could get something out of this match. But Tampa was definitely better on the day.”

The Riverhounds (0-1-0) will return to action on the road against Hartford Athletic (2-0-0) at 7 p.m. May 15.