Takeaways and Player Grades: Despite inspiring 10-man effort, Riverhounds cursed in stoppage time again

Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

In a 34-match season, there’s going to be moments when things don’t go a team’s way.

Sometimes, it’s in those instances that test and define that team’s character and ability to overcome obstacles.

On Saturday night in Indianapolis, the Riverhounds faced a daunting situation early in their important, late season match with Indy Eleven.  The Hounds responded having to play a man down for most of match by digging down and doing what they’ve done best this season, making things difficult for its opponent to find scoring chances.

They did everything well to win the match, even grabbing a goal in the second half, but once again, a very late stoppage time moment doused their hopes to push higher up in the standings and into a tie for eighth place on the playoff line in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference.

The Hounds frustrated an Indy Eleven side that dominated possession but was only sparingly able to get behind the Hounds’ back line, as Indy’s Head Coach Sean McAuley pointed out after the match that his team struggled with the final pass because the Hounds put so many players behind the ball and were so disciplined.

In fact, McAuley went so far as to say something that many coaches detest, watching his side play impatiently in trying to break down a well-organized Pittsburgh shape, pointing out that they tried to go up 4-0 in the first 15 minutes, instead of letting the game come to them by being more patient in the attack.

As the match evolved in the second half, Pittsburgh knew they would have to make the most of their chances when they did get forward.  Sure enough, Danny Griffin’s was in the center of the box to volley home a ball that came to him from Illal Osumanu quick pass, to stun the home team playing with a man advantage.

Still, these are the 2024 Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who seemily have found stoppage time to be a minefield.

Pittsburgh entered stoppage time holding a precarious 1-0 lead.

And once again, for the second time in three weeks, they were within grasp of full three points, but couldn’t seize the moment.

This time, as the intended four minutes of stoppage time extended to over five minutes due to a substituion, Indy’s last push into the final third resulted in a foul call on Griffin, the Hounds’ captain, for contact with Indy’ Maalique Foster 24 yards out.

Romario Williams stepped up to bury a brilliant strike that rose over the Hounds wall and neatly spun inside the right corner of the goal.

Resolute 10-man Riverhounds burnt in stoppage time again, settle for 1-1 draw at Indy

This is not a completely lost result though.

With the draw, Pittsburgh showed once again that they will be a very difficult team to beat during the final stretch of the season.

With seven matches left, Pittsburgh (32 points) will play four of those matches at home, and they’re now within two points of the eight place spot that would get them over the playoff line.  In this final stretch, they will play four of their final seven matches at home and face three of the teams they’re chasing: Rhode Island FC (next Saturday), Birmingham Legion and at Loudoun United FC.

Do the Hounds Have a Legit Beef with the Official?

Just four minutes into the match, Hogan came in for a 50-50 challenge at midfield with Indy’s Sebastian Guenzatti.

Match official Elijio Arreguin originally booked Hogan with a yellow card, but after a few minutes of discussion, changed the call from a yellow to a red card, sending Hogan to the showers early in the match, leaving the Hounds left to play with 10 men.

It’s always tough at anytime to make a call like this that could change the direction of the match, but Arreguin’s original insticts were to call the contact, which originally looked like Hogan came up with his foot to Guenzatti’s thigh.  As the replay was shown a few more times, it appeared that Hogan’s boot was open to the thigh.  As interpreted by rules of the game, if Hogan’s attempt was determined to have been with his studs up, that would be an automatic red card booking.

The USL Championship does not use replay to review calls including contact, but Arreguin did consult with the linesman while Guenzatti and the Indy players on the field pleaded for a red card.  Inexplictly, Arreguin changed his original call from yellow card to a red card because he was convinced by his linesman and/or the fourth official that the challenge was indeed studs up.

Watching the replay numerous times now, it appears that Hogan’s right foot is initially pointed with his toes first toward Guenzatti’s thigh as he makes contact with the ball.  Still, the video is still pretty inconclusive, which in a way, is good that USL Championship does not use replay.  It may be in the follow through, where Hogan’s foot opens up more and barely scrapes or grazes over Guenzatti’s right thigh that might have been the reasoning for Arreguin’s changed call.  Of course, Guenzatti fell to the ground immediately grabbing that part of his body, apparently grimacing in pain, doing his part to sell the call.

A look at challenge Riverhounds D Pat Hogan was sent off for#INDvPIT pic.twitter.com/BtEVUyZdWo

— Pittsburgh Soccer Now (@pghsoccernow) September 1, 2024

After the match, Hounds’ Head Coach Bob Lilley, firmly and understandably believed that Hogan won the ball and didn’t go through Guenzatti, and felt it was an unfair booking, which altered the course of the match.

With Hogan winning the ball and no clear-cut violent action taking place, while the two players were going in different directions, it was simply a bad call to overturn the original decision.

To the Hounds’ credit, they played very well and did their part on the field to come away with a full three points.

Making Most of Attacking Moments

Pittsburgh held its ground, while being severely out-possessed, limiting Indy to three first half shots, with goalkeeper Eric Dick making two saves.

Both sides would find chances in the second half.

Romario Williams’s header from the center of the box following Aoden Quinn’s corner nearly gave the home side the lead shortly after the break, but he missed to the left.

The Hounds were pretty solid in terms of executing a match plan that they spend many hours working on in training — once they were playing down a man — by bottling up all of the passing lanes for Indy to operate, then wait for opportune moments to strike.  In a way, this situation plays into their favor as long as their opponents are rushing through progression in the final third, as the Hounds are often looking when playing in 11v11 situations as a countering unit. 

Bob Lilley reminded us of this in an exclusive interview with Pittsburgh Soccer Now this past week.

“It’s not a matter of having more of ball but what are we doing with the ball when we have it,” Lilley explained.

“When we lose it. Are we losing (the ball) in the right areas?  Are we we taking chances or making silly mistakes?”

The Hounds were a clearly focused side, knowing that they had to minimize mistakes and follow their coach’s instructions.

In the second half, they found their best chance to strike in the 55th minute when midfielder Jackson Walti clipped one from just outside the box, nearly looping his attempt into the back corner of the net — but it hit the bar, landing for Luke Biasi to attempt a rebound effort which was easily saved.

Both sides would continue to battle for quality chances, but Pittsburgh carved out another chance following a long free kick in the 73rd minute. The key to this sequence for Pittsburgh was maintaining possession, progressing with Robbie Mertz sending a long cross from the left sideline that connected with Illal Osumanu on the far post side. The Hounds’ defender headed the ball back to the center of the box, where Danny Griffin was there to one-time volley his chance into the back of the net.

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 🐾@DannyGriffin04 volleys home to put the 10-man @RiverhoundsSC side in front! pic.twitter.com/RXQslGWugp

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) September 1, 2024

This was outstanding execution from Mertz’s pinpoint cross, to Osumanu’s presence to get to the ball and send it back to the middle of the box for someone to be there — and in this case it was Griffin ready to ping the ball forward into goal.

Stoppage Time Woes

Pittsburgh withstood more pressure, with goalkeeper Eric Dick making a total of five saves.

With four minutes of stoppage time added, the teams battled nearly five more minutes into the extra time portion of the match (as a minute was added on due to a substitution). With Indy pressing for one last chance, Griffin was called for a foul on Malique Foster in the center of the final third, 24 yards from goal.

Indy’s Romario Williams lined up a free kick that sailed over the Hounds’ wall and past the outstretched arm of Dick, hitting the back of the net.

Golazo Romario!#INDvPIT pic.twitter.com/zBbIBmoUCU

— Indy Eleven (@IndyEleven) September 1, 2024

In the sequence leading up to the foul, the Hounds didn’t stop pressuring the ball in numbers especially it was in the final third.  When Maalique Foster took a touch in the center of the edge of the final third after receiving a ball from the left side, the Hounds had fortified the box with plenty of numbers.

On a night when Griffin and the three center backs led an effort that included a whopping 35 clearances, but they couldn’t clear the ball one more time.

Foster tried to accelerate forward, darting around three players including Griffin, who’s contact came with a bump from his hip, enough to earn the foul call.  For a team that struggled all night to get behind the Hounds shape,  but having a number of players who Lilley described earlier this week having the ability to score in a blink — a straightaway free kick chance was just what they needed in the dying second to have a chance to equalize.

Sure enough, off the foot of Romario Williams who clearly showed his quality, Indy denied Pittsburgh from taking the full three points away, as the referee’s whistle blew immediately following the ensuing kickoff.

The Riverhounds were left to ponder what could have been, having to settle for a draw for the third time in the past nine matches where they were on the precipice of picking up a full three points.

What we do know from how they handled this match, the Hounds are resolute, can deal with difficult circumstances and will be a difficult team for its opponents to contend with for the rest of the season.

Now, with seven matches to go — they’ll have to keep pushing forward with the hopes that they can avoid any further stoppage time fiascos that will get them across the finish line with enough points to earn a seventh straight playoff appearance.

What’s next?

Riverhounds Player Grades (INDvPIT)

Eric Dick (GK) – 6 – Credited with three saves in another solid performance

Luke Biasi – 7 – was buzzing around and making solid recovery and defensive action plays (3 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 clearances) — earned two foul calls and won 5/9 duels

Babacar Diene (90+3’) – NR – very late sub

Illal Osumanu – 7 – terrific presence of mind to play the ball over to center (I am sure they work on that in training) of box for Griffin on the goal.  Won 5/9 duels and had eight clearances.

Pat Hogan (sent off 4’) – NR – he won the ball but got a red card so we’ll just leave it at that.

Sean Suber – 7 – won 5/8 duels and had 7 clearances

Dani Rovira – 5.5 – always a good two-way player, it was good for Hounds to have his veteran presence on the field when they needed focus and discipline as he had two interceptions and 80 percent passing accuracy.

Pierre Cayet (67’) – NR – four clearances in his 23+ minutes of action

Jackson Walti – 6.5 – three defensive actions, one recovery and another shot that rang off the bar that nearly gave the Hounds the lead (wondering why in stats column he’s not getting credit for the shot — as it’s possibly a cross/pass?)

Danny Griffin – 6.5 – outstanding finish that was the highlight of a night when the central midfielder had extra ground to cover with the Hounds reduced to 10 men. Griffin had a team-leading nine clearances, along with three interceptions and going 4 for 4 winning aerial duels — but conceded two fouls with the last one being the most costly.

Robbie Mertz – 7.5 – covered tons of ground, created a few decent chances with four passes into final third including the ball in that led to the goal.

Kenardo Forbes (82’) – NR – usual late sub not enough touches or able to have quality presence on ball  (one touch, one foul conceded)

Edward Kizza – 5 – Hounds’ leading scorer’s effectiveness came in constant movement in covering a lot of ground and fewer in the final third where he didn’t register a shot

Bradley Sample (67’) – NR –

Emmanuel Johnson – 6 – very active defending and challenging Indy’s deep midfielders and defenders to make them work — with four fouls committed and four conceded!

Jake Lent-Koop (82’) – NR