Riverhounds HC Bob Lilley on win at Rhode Island: ‘It’s a good three points, an important three points’

Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

On Saturday, the Riverhounds worked their way into taking control of the match, but they had to overcome a slow start in the early going, but eventually they got on the front foot — en route to their first road win of the season — beating Rhode Island FC, 1-0, at Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

FINAL: Riverhounds SC 1, Rhode Island FC 0

Riverhounds Head Coach Bob Lilley was pleased to see his squad work through its challenges early in the match.

After the half hour mark, Pittsburgh started to take control, closing out the first half with what could arguably be the most impressive the the team looked in creating quality possession and chances in the final third all season.

“It’s hard in the early stages of any game, whether you’re at home or on the road. You don’t have control, and you have to work your way into the game,” Lilley said after the match.

“I think we were able to break lines and get higher up the pitch, and we were just really aggressive in terms of trying to go forward. We didn’t force a lot of turnovers, but we kept them in their half for stretches and slowed down their attack. It’s a good team win to play collectively like that. We needed to demonstrate that we can play on the front foot and create more chances, and I think that’s what we did, at least the first 60 minutes.”

Danny Griffin’s goal in the midst of the Hounds’ late first half push provided the payoff for the Hounds, who had the hosts on their heels with a few close calls.   Griffin converted on his chance, giving the Hounds’ captain a team-leading three goals for the season.

For the first time in a season when they’ve played eight of the past 10 matches in all competitions on the road, the Riverhounds have grown through their trials, finally coming away with a road victory in league play.

“I think we learned from that game (loss on May 10) in Colorado Springs,” Lilley explained.

“We did a better job today understanding that it’s a big conference game, and if you want to win these games, you have to show up, work hard and find ways to win. I think it helped how well we were able to play in Louisville after beating New York (in the Open Cup), so we knew we could do it after playing Philly. We played positive and put ourselves in good positions in Louisville, and we did that today. When you’re tired, it takes a lot of mental toughness to press and chase, and I think we demonstrated that today. It’s a good three points, an important three points.”

Pittsburgh completed another stretch of three matches in eight days.  This time around, all three matches were on the road.

Next week, the Hounds return home, to face Rhode Island FC again, this time in USL Jägermeister Cup group stage play.

“I think games are going to be like this a lot, regardless of whether it’s one game a week or two. I just think there are a lot of good teams, and there’s going to be a lot of tight games. We want to build on this,” Lilley explained.

“It’s not a surprise to me, because I think we’ve been getting healthier. You look at our last five games — New York, at Louisville, at Colorado Springs, then Philly and Rhode Island — that’s a very tough stretch, and four of those games, I think we played quite well.”