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Pittsburgh Riverhounds

FINAL: Riverhounds 1, Miami 1

USL Championship Eastern Conference

FINAL: Riverhounds SC 1, The Miami FC 1

Match statistics: USL Championship Match Center

Match Summary 

In a match that was short on attacking flair and shots, but long on whistles and choppy play, the Riverhounds SC found a way to battle back late in the second half in its home opener, finding a late Burke Fahling equalizer to play Eastern Conference rival The Miami FC to a 1-1 draw on Friday night at Highmark Stadium.

“I am proud of the guys for the way they responded. Miami was very physical. We didn’t do much for most of the match,” Riverhounds SC Head Coach Bob Lilley said.

“It was a battle of attrition.”

The Riverhounds controlled possession for most of the first half (58%/42%) edge, but they lacked creativity and couldn’t create many chances in the final third.

A poor defensive lapse led to the only pair of shots on frame for Miami in the first half, as USL Championship veteran Kyle Murphy’s persistence paid off, as he was the recipient of a deflected ball following a second-effort play by his teammate Christian Sorto.

Murphy bulldozed his way toward goal, after his first shot was saved by Hounds keeper Christian Garner, he stayed with the play, and put the rebound back into goal to give the visitors the 1-0 lead.

Things were so choppy and physical, that the Hounds decided to play more direct for the remainder of the first 45 minutes, then would make adjustments at the half.

They would not get a shot on frame until the 86th minute, when Fahling found a ball come to him in the box, about 14 yards from goal follow an initial corner kick attempt header clearance came back his way on the bounce, giving Fahling a chance to deliver a stinging one-time volley into the top left corner.

Look for a more detailed recap and reaction from Highmark Stadium to follow on Pittsburgh Soccer Now.  

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Christian Garner; Nate Dossantos (Burke Fahling 67’), Patrick Hogan, Arturo Ordóñez, Dani Rovira (Langston Blackstock 77’); Kenardo Forbes (Tony Lopez 66’), Junior Etou (Joe Farrell 77’); Marc Ybarra, Robbie Mertz, Albert Dikwa; Edward Kizza (Tola Showunmi 66’)

Miami FC lineup (5-3-2) — Adrían Zendejas; Paco Craig, Callum Chapman-Page, Curtis Thorn, Aedan Stanley, Moisés Hernandez; Bolu Akinyode, Florian Valot, Ben Mines (Mark Segbers 72’); Kyle Murphy (Benjamin Ofeimu 80’), Christian Sorto (Joaquin Rivas 72’)

Scoring summary

MIA — Kyle Murphy 23’
PIT — Burke Fahling 85’

Discipline summary

PIT — Edward Kizza 11’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Arturo Ordóñez 27’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Benjamin Ofeimu 84’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Callum Chapman-Page 89’ (caution – dissent)

Match Day Updates 

Final – That’ll be it. Game ends in a tie, 1-1. Not too much action for the Hounds until the final 10 minutes when they seemed to find their stride. All-time, Pittsburgh is 2-2-3 against Miami.

90′ – 4 minutes of free soccer added tonight.

88′ – Yellow card awarded to Chapman-Page.

85′ – WOW! What a rocket by Burke Fahling. The LB snipes one in from the 18 off a rebound from a corner kick. Riverhounds tie it 1-1.

84′ – Yellow card given to #22 Ofeimu on the Miami FC. Hounds got just about under 10 minutes to tie this one.

79′ – Ofeimu now in for the goal scorer Kyle Murphy on Miami. #PITvMIA

77′ – Hounds make their last two substitutions. Farrell and Blackstock in for Etou and Rovira. I think Pittsburgh will be switching to 3 man backline now.

72′ – Miami makes two subs up top to keep the press going. Rivas and Segbers in for Mines and Soto.

66′ – Lopez, Fahling and Showunmi in for Dossantos, Forbes and Kizza. Hounds still have two subs left to use if they want.

60′ – Things are getting quite chippy here at Highmark. Bob Lilley not too happy.

End of 1st Half – Riverhounds down 1-0 after 45 minutes of play. Lots of direct balls. Hounds have more possession but not too many chances to show for it. Miami already wasting time, trying to secure their first victory of the season. 

45′ – 3 minutes of stoppage time added for the first half.

41′ – Dikwa and Zendejas have been getting into it all game.

32′ – Good chance for the Hounds off a free kick. Mertz crossed it in and Ordonez almost finished it but just out of reach. 1-0 MIA

27′ – Yellow card now given to former Pitt Panther, Arturo Ordonez.

23′ – Kyle Murphy gets his first goal of the season. Powers through everybody and finishes off his own rebound. Not a good start for Pittsburgh. 1-0 MIA

16′ – First corner kick for the Hounds is caught by Zendejas the keeper in the air. Score remains 0-0. 

11′ – Yellow card to Kizza. With being as objective as possible I strongly disagree with that call. Dikwa a moment before was thrown down by his neck and the ref didn’t see it happen at all. Yikes.

6′ – First chance of the game for the Hounds is a meg by Forbes through the midfield, ball to Mertz out wide and Mertz crosses one in to Dikwa but no touch on the ball. 0-0 

Look for starting lineups to be posted here shortly before kickoff, along with in-game commentary and updates.

PSN Riverhounds Coverage 

Hounds Notebook: It’s ‘Friday Night Lights’ for home opener, Hogan’s a Hero too and impact of another USL academy contract signing

Albert Dikwa earns USLC Player of the Week honors

Riverhounds sign RDA, Kiski Area’s Anders Bordoy to USL Academy contract for 2023 season

Takeaways and Player Grades: Riverhounds punish Memphis with a Big Dikwa Energy Hat Trick Boost

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