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Pittsburgh Riverhounds

FINAL: Detroit City FC 1, Riverhounds SC 0 (USL Jägermeister Cup Group Stage)

(Photo courtesy Detroit City FC)
USL Jägermeister Cup Group Stage

FINAL:

Detroit City FC 1, Riverhounds 0

Match Stats: USL Championship Match Center

Instant Match Summary

For 90 minutes, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds battled Detroit City FC to a standoff — but at the start of stoppage time Darren Smith’s header lifted the hosts to a dramatic 1-0 victory as both teams began Jägermeister Cup group stage match at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

Two minutes later in the dying minutes of the match, the Hounds had a great chance to find the equalizer when Illal Osumanu redirected a Sean Suber cross toward goal from close range but DCFC defender Devin Amoo Mensah — from a sitting position cleared ball off the line for a spectacular save that denied Riverhounds’ Jorge Garcia from equalizing.

City joins Hartford at the top of the group standings with three points each, while the Hounds are at the bottom along with Portland Hearts of Pine.

Hounds goalkeeper Jacob Randolph made two saves.

The Hounds came out with a forward pressing mindset on the road, and they were able to pin the hosts in their own half and create some solid chances. A pair of early Luke Biasi crosses from the left caused particular danger; the first forced a difficult catch by Detroit goalie Carlos Saldaña as he bumped into the post, and the second set up a Danny Griffin header that forced an 11th-minute save by Saldaña.

Minutes later from a corner kick, Amoo-Mensah had Detroit’s first look at goal, winning a header but sending it over the bar with power.

In the 24th minute, Aidan O’Toole got a step on the Detroit defense and was striding toward goal, but Michael Bryant pulled back the Hounds attacker just enough to put him off balance while not drawing the referee’s whistle, despite protests from the Hounds.

Detroit became the more dangerous side after the break. In the 61st minute, Hounds goalkeeper Jacob Randolph had to dive low to make a highlight-reel first save of the match, denying Alex Villanueva’s shot after a corner kick was only headed clear as far as the top of the box.
As time wound down, Smith put a soft header on goal that was saved by Randolph, but it was a sign of things to come. In the first minute of stoppage time, Smith won another header just in front of the penalty spot, and this time, he was able to turn the cross from Ben Morris inside the left post for the go-ahead goal.
The Hounds weren’t out of it completely, and had one final, excellent chance.
Suber received a long cross from the right side and carried the ball toward the goal line on the left before hitting a low pass that found Osumanu at the top of the 6-yard box. The center back didn’t make clean contact but still turned the ball toward goal and past Saldaña. Amoo-Mensah was on his backside in the scramble, but the Detroit defender managed to get enough on the ball to turn it away from the goal line and avoid Garcia, who was searching for the rebound.

Pittsburgh’s next Jägermeister Cup match will be played on May 31, when they host Eastern Conference Champions, Rhode Island, at Highmark Stadium.

The Hounds  return to league play next Saturday when they host North Carolina FC.

Match Day Updates

2nd Half

FINAL — DETROIT CITY FC 1, PITTSBURGH 0

DCFC takes all three points in dramatic fashion!  The Hounds once again couldn’t create enough quality chances throughout the match and in the final 15 minutes were pretty much outplayed — as Detroit’s subs appeared to help tilt the match in its favor.

90’++ — Devin Amoo Mensah  — from a sitting position clears ball off the line for a crazy save that denies Riverhounds’ Jorge Garcia from equalizing!

90′ — GOAL — DETROIT CITY FC 1, PITTSBURGH 0

Darrin Smith — USL Championship’s leading goal scorer is there on the end with a heads that beats Hounds keeper Jacob Randolph.

83′ — HOUNDS SUBS — Guillherme Vactor and Jorge Garcia come on for Biasi and Sample.

75′ — Detroit’s new sub — Yamasaki sends dangerous ball in goal box forcing Randolph to sprawl down to grab before Smith gets to it.

72′ — Morris with chance for Detroit — but from clear cut shooting lane — he hits it over the bar.

70′ — HOUNDS SUBS — Bertin Jacquesson and Max Broughton come on for Aiden O’Toole and Perrin Barnes.

This is the first appearance for Jacquesson — who’s been dealing with hamstring injury.

63′ — Mertz with a nice service to far post where O’Toole makes a good run but can’t get to it.

61′ — SAVE!  Jacob Randolph absolutely robs Villanueva!  DCFC’s chance comes from corner attempt.

1st Half

HALF — RIVERHOUNDS 0, DETROIT CITY 0

Not much from either side — especially in final third — neither team able to get a legit chance — though Pittsburgh has slight edge (3-2, 1-0 on frame).   Hounds midfield is doing an excellent job of shutting down Detroit’s play through middle and denying wide play too.

42′ – Ydrach tries the ball over the top to Griffin, but the offside flag goes up. The captain draws some boos from the crowd after putting the ball into the net away.

37′ – Another good build-up, and Biasi’s low cross forces the keeper to hit the deck and parry it away with Griffin lurking. Detroit thumps the loose ball clear into touch.

33′ – Yellow Card to Hounds! Suber pulls back Cedeño, and that’s going to draw the third yellow card of the match — the second shown to a Hound.

25′ — Yellow Card to Hounds!  It’s on O’Toole.

23′ – O’Toole with the lefty half-volley misses just high! The Hounds’ pressure creating chances in the Detroit half.

15′ – Amoo-Mensah heads just over the bar from a Detroit corner kick. Both teams with chances in a lively first quarter hour.
11′ – Looked like Griffin on the end of a Biasi cross, and that header forces a big save in the Detroit goal! Hounds getting forward early here on the road.
10′ — Yellow Card to DCFC’s Ryan Williams.
8′ – O’Toole clattered near midfield, but the Hounds play through on the advantage. Into the box Griffin goes, but the last defender able to win the ball and clear for Detroit.

5′ – Biasi crosses on in from the left, and the ball drifts toward the back post. Saldaña catches cleanly in goal for Detroit, but his back smacks the post hard, and he goes down for a moment

2′ — Without Augustine Williams — or any other true forward for this match in Pittsburgh’s Starting XI — Hounds going with what looks almost like a 3-4-3 — with top line movement between Mertz, Griffin and O’Toole, while Bradley Sample and Jackson Walti sit deeper — while Luke Biasi is pushing higher up the left side and Perrin Barnes on the right.

4:05 pm — Kickoff!

3:05 pm

Here’s are starters…

Key Storylines

Earlier in the week, we took a closer look at the Jägermeister Cup along with measuring the pros and cons for the struggling Riverhounds as they enter a third competition in the same season for the first time in the club’s 26-year history.

Riverhounds Notebook: With newly added competition, is there enough Jäger to go around for USL Championship clubs?

As reported in the Notebook, injuries continue to be an issue for Pittsburgh.

Last week, four players were held out of action due to injuries.  Now, Bertin Jacquesson (hamstring) remains questionable but could once again be in the 18 as he comes back from a preseason hamstring injury, as head coach Bob Lilley tries to manage his players’ workload with key league and Open Cup matches looming to begin May.  Forward Brigham Larsen (knee) has been ruled out, while Charles Ahl (ankle) and Junior Etou (hamstring) are also questionable.

Luke Biasi also is available, as his one-match suspension for being sent off last week against Loudoun will be served in the next league match, May 3 vs. North Carolina.

The match does not count in the league standings and will be played as a 90-minute contest, but after stoppage time is completed, if the score is still tied, the teams will go to a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner, with the team earning an extra point.

Scouting Detroit City FC

This is DCFC’s second season being coached by former Premier League striker Danny Dichio — and once known as a team that would grind out results, sometimes playing not very attractive soccer — this year’s club is thriving on the front foot and picking up where they finished last year — as third best team in the conference.

Le Rouge are among the top scoring teams in the USL Championship, thanks in large part to a prolific start for South African striker Darren Smith.

The Cape Town native, who signed with Detroit in the offseason after playing the top divisions in Finland and Morocco — and as super sub for Phoenix last year, has six goals in seven matches to share the USL Championship scoring lead with Loudoun’s Abdellatif Aboukoura, who scored the winning goal in the Hounds’ loss last Saturday.

Detroit’s (5W-2D-1L) lone loss came at Louisville.

Like the Hounds, Detroit also advanced to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32, meaning Dichio also will have considerations of player workload management to consider entering a busy May.

Still, this is a squad that has a decent amount of depth that also has a strong core of a defense that was among the Championship’s best last season — as it allowed only 32 goals in 34 regular season games — with veterans Stephen Carroll, Devon Amoo-Mensah and Michael Bryant all back with the club  — and former Hounds and Pitt defender Shane Wiedt in the mix.  Thus far, they’ve only allowed seven goals in regular season competition (the same as the Hounds).

Also back is forward Ben Morris, also signed to a new deal after 10 goals in the past campaign, while there are enough intriguing newcomers such as South African forward Darren Smith that should keep Le Rouge in playoff contention this season.

Riverhounds Notes / Personnel / Tactics

The area where Pittsburgh fans may be getting concerned about the Hounds’ lack of chance creation — and it likely won’t get easier at Detroit — a place where they’ve had trouble scoring.  In fact, all three of the Hounds matches played at Detroit since the series began in 2022, have resulted in a draw — the last two as scoreless affairs.

Maybe it’s still to early to sound an alarm, but the Hounds have dropped to last in the league in Expected Goals at 3.82xG over six games.  Even last year, for all the club’s struggles at the start of the season, the Hounds were never last in the league in this category.

Big chances have been hard to come by for this team which has had a renewed approach to being a possession side with mixed results (6th in average possession — 53.5%, 11th in USLC in passes and 15th in passing accuracy).

When it comes to execution in the final third, that’s where the problems lie.   The Hounds are 23rd in the 24 team league in creating big chances (4), only ahead of Hartford — and last in missed big chances with just one (out of a paltry four).

At the top of the attack, Augustine Williams is not producing as the Hounds may have hoped and he’s logging a lot of minutes early in the season while covering a lot of ground as expected in Bob Lilley’s system. With rookie target forward Brigham Larsen out, the Hounds are pretty limited at the forward position and this will also affect lineup selections and quite possibly the team’s tactics — as they may hold back on pressing some teams especially on the road.

Being that this is first match of a new Cup competition and with a three match in eight day stretch looming next week, Lilley may opt to try some different lineup selections for this match.

Jorge Garcia had two of the Hounds’ best chances in the second half of last week’s loss, so maybe he will get the nod in Detroit.  It will be interesting to see if they go all in trying to give some valuable minutes to some of the younger players or maintain first team lineup in their lone match of the week.

John K’s Projected Riverhounds Lineup at Detroit City FC 

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