Preview: In good form Riverhounds face Indy Eleven side eager to get back on track in league play

Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

With eight matches remaining, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have been playing like a team with their backs against the wall, as they continue to battle to get back over the playoff line in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings.

The next big challenge for the Hounds will come on Saturday night, when they’re back on the road, in Indianapolis, to take on an Indy Eleven squad that is not in great form and looking for a positive bounce back in league play after a mid-week US Open Cup Semifinal loss to MLS’ Sporting KC.

When asked about this match-up earlier this week, Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley hinted that while Indy is going to be a tough match-up, the Hounds will still look to take the match to them on the road.

“We’ve always played tough games vs them. We are in good form but this will be a tough match-up,” Lilley said.

“One thing I can say about Indy, is that they can win tight games and they can score in blink with the talent they have. Now that they’re done with (US) Open Cup, their focus will be on League. They’ll be ready to go. (In the League Standings) everyone’s closed gap on them.”

Lilley added: “We’re going to have to take our chances. Look to take the match to them.”

The two teams met in early June, at Highmark Stadium, with the Hounds coming out on the losing end, with Indy winning 2-1, despite Pittsburgh being on the front foot for large portions of the match.

Riverhounds lose to Indy Eleven 2-1 at home

Crucial defensive lapses cost the Hounds on that day, as the Hounds came up short despite having season-high totals of 24 shots and nine shots on goal to go with 68 percent of possession.

Defender Josh O’Brien recorded his first goal as one of the Boys in Blue in the 23rd minute off an assist from defender Aedan Stanley.  Forward Sebastian Guenzatti doubled the lead in the 46th minute on an assist from Augi Williams.

Pittsburgh got one back from Danny Griffin in the 57th minute, but the visiting Eleven earned the three points.  Goalie Hunter Sulte registered five saves in the match.

But both teams enter Saturday’s match trending in different directions than they were in the first meeting.

The Hounds entered the first match having failed to win in their previous four, while Indy was in the process of rattling off 10 straight wins in all competitions — the eighth of which was topping the Hounds.

This time around, the Hounds come in with a 4-0-4 record across their previous eight contests, bringing them three points shy of the playoff line and just four back of fifth-place Indy. Indy, meanwhile, has dropped three straight and logged plenty of miles in the process, falling last weekend at Las Vegas and then having their outstanding U.S. Open Cup run end in a weather-delayed semifinal at Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday.

Those sorts of factors rarely seem to matter when the Hounds face Indy, however, as the teams seem bound to play tight matches. The Hounds have the 6-5-3 edge all-time, but 11 of the 14 contests have been settled by one goal or fewer.

Ahead of the first match at Highmark Stadium, PSN provided the in-depth scouting report on Indy Eleven.

Preview: Riverhounds seek to revitalize attack vs streaking Indy Eleven

“Douglas Martinez,  Augustine Williams,  Aodhan Quinn, Jack Blake, Sebastian Guenzatti, Laurence Wootton — these are all league type guys who can score,” Lilley said of Indy’s depth, plus the Eleven picked up another dangerous threat, Maalique Foster, from Colorado Springs last week.

“In the back — they’re stacked. They’ve struggled in the last 10 games (in league play), but they’re desperate team. If they drop few more games, they could fall out of the playoff spot.”

Here’s how Indy lined up in its last league match (last week vs Las Vegas): 

Hounds Projected Starting XI and Match-Ups to Watch

When asked about his player rotation as the Hounds hit the homestretch of the season, Lilley said that he’s satisfied with the current group, and does not expect many changes ahead of Saturday’s match.

However, he did throw in a little nugget.

“(Roster Freeze) deadline is Sept 9. We haven’t ruled out adding player or two. But it’s got to make sense,” Lilley shared.

“Because our group is settled, playing well.”

Most of the players have started to settle into a fairly consistent rotation, with everyone knowing their roles.  Still, there are some tweaks that could come each match, as Lilley will make tactical adjustments and sees match-ups that favor using certain players and now he knows he can go fairly deep into his bench.

“We’ve grown.  We didn’t have constancy from week to week (earlier in the season). There were always stretches in games we were poor,” Lilley explained.

“Now, we’ve been playing with more consistency, and we’re very hard to beat because we defending more collective for full 90 minutes giving little away. We’re creating more chances.  There’s better possession stretches. It’s also not a matter of having more of ball but what are we doing with the ball when we have it.  When we lose it. Are we losing (the ball) in the right areas?  Are we we taking chances or making silly mistakes? ”

Without a loss in the past eight matches, the Hounds appear to be a confident group heading to Indy.

Lilley believes that Indy (-4 goal differential) have been struggling a bit on the defensive side, and there will be chances to be had in this match as long as they take the match to them.

The rotation has included some tweaks at forward, as Babacar Diene got his first start since early in the season last week, while missing on a golden chance early, redeemed himself by setting up Edward Kizza’s first of two goals at Birmingham.  Diene has earned another start, but if not, Kazaiah Sterling and Emmanuel Johnson have been part of the mix all season alongside Kizza as the Hounds have primarily played 5-3-2 this season.  Johnson scored the late goal in Birmingham, hooking up with Kenardo Forbes, who as wily veteran on the squad, is now thriving in his role coming off the bench late in matches.

Projected Starting XI 

• GK – Eric Dick
• Winger/OB (L) – Junior Etou
• CB – Luke Biasi
• CB – Sean Suber
• CB – Pat Hogan
• Winger/OB (R) – Langston Blackstock
• CMF –  Jackson Walti
• CMF – Danny Griffin
• AMF – Robbie Mertz
• F – Edward Kizza
• F – Babacar Diene

Bench options:

• GK – Gabe Perrotta, Jacob Randolph
• D – Illal Osumanu, Jake Kent-Loop, Pierre Cayet, Dani Rovira
• MF – Kenardo Forbes, Aiden O’Toole, Bradley Sample, Nate Dragasich
• F – Emmanuel Johnson, Enoch Mushagalusa, Kazaiah Sterling

2024 Records & Statistical Comparision (INDvPIT) 
Indy Eleven: 10-9-5 (-4), 35 pts; 5th in Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Riverhounds: 7-9-10 (-8), 31 pts; 9th in Eastern Conference

IND		PIT
24	Games	26
35	Goals	26
39	Goals Conceded	24
23	Assists	15
105	SOT	103
106	Shots Faced	90
5	Clean Sheets	12

Match info

Riverhounds (7-9-10) vs. Indy Eleven (10-9-5)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 31
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Michael A. Carroll Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
Odds: Hounds +155 / Draw +210 / Indy +160
TV: KDKA+
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #INDvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN