Riverhounds ready for cross-state matchup with Philadelphia Union II
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The Pittsburgh Riverhounds got their 2020 season started off on the right foot Sunday, and now they are hoping to carry that momentum into the rest of their schedule.
It starts when the Hounds (1-0-0) face off with their Keystone State rival, Philadelphia Union II (0-0-1), at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Subaru Park in Chester.
Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley knows that his team needs to be ready when its heads into its second matchup of the season, facing a Union team that tied Loudon United FC in March before the season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“They can hurt us in different ways,” Lilley said. “Are they experienced as Louisville? No. But I think if we are solid on the game plan and we are able to be consistent in the game plan, I think we can get our opportunities because they lack a bit of experience.
“But also, their outside backs push pretty high. I think you can get numbers in behind them and I think we are going to look to do that a lot more consistently than we did in Louisville. I think we can create chances against them.”
The Riverhounds dragged through the first 30 minutes of their season opener but showed their ability to persevere against one of the top teams in the USL in a 3-1 victory at Louisville. When the black and gold travel to Philadelphia this weekend, they will be facing a different type of team.
Lilley described their next opponent as “young and free,” but they also have the ability to beat the Riverhounds in several ways. Yomi Scintu and Shanyder Borgelin provide a lot of size up front at 6-foot-4 and 6-3, respectively, and they also have two defenders who stand 6-4 or taller.
“They are dangerous on set pieces, they have some athletes, and they are big in the center back position and also up top,” Lilley said. “So we are going to have to do a good job of defending those, and we are going to have to not be as stretched as we were in parts of the Louisville game. If someone gets dribbled, we better have someone close by to blow it up.”
Philadelphia’s athleticism and ability to put pressure on defenses with several attackers in somewhat of a 2-6-2 formation is something that Lilley mentioned frequently throughout his media availability this week. Just last year Lilley saw Philadelphia’s capabilities first hand during their first matchup. Although the Riverhounds came out of the game with a tie, Lilley admitted that they were fortunate to do so.
“We were lucky to get out of there because at 2-2 we had like three golden chances and they had like five. The game was wide open,” Lilley said. “They were faster than us and running through us and both teams were going for broke. But there was no control on that game and Philly, they were explosive.
“Philly is talented with young kids and they are going to run at you. They are going to break you at times. So we just need to be able to slow them down.”
Slowing down their cross-state rivals will be the key for the Riverhounds on Saturday. In order to do that, Lilley is hoping that his team’s maturity and fortitude will shine through when they take the field.
“That’s what I want to see this week,” Lilley said. “You showed you could battle. You showed you could win in a tough place. Now you are playing a team where everyone, on paper, is saying you should win. But are you professional enough to go in and handle it the way you need to handle it?”