Two weeks prior, even before he put in a full week of preparation to face New Mexico United, Riverhounds Head Coach Bob Lilley had plenty to say about his club’s upcoming matchup against the USL Championship’s Western Conference leaders.
Lilley knew that they would be facing a dangerous team that could very well pick his team apart.
“Some teams you can disrupt,” Lilley said two weeks prior to his team’s meeting with New Mexico before an Independence Day sellout crowd at Highmark Stadium.
“You can certainly try to ask them a few questions. They’re going to pull and stretch you with their speed of play. When they break you in an area, their speed of play, they exploit, and switch, and your sprinting, trying to recover, and the ball’s going to find another area. That’s what they’re really good at.”
Fast forward to Friday night — when the Riverhounds put together a strong performance in disrupting what New Mexico does best.
The Hounds let the visitors have the ball, but they did their part to punish them and take advantage of their moments in transition.
Sure enough, the home side hit the woodwork three times before finally getting a second half game winner from local hero Robbie Mertz, in a 1-0 victory on home turf.
“They’re (New Mexico) a good enough team that they can score at any point. We were able to weather their storms early and in the second half,” Lilley said after what he thought was his club’s most promising performance of the season.
“We created solid chances, good chances with three posts. I can’t remember the last time we did that. We had to work our s?qtails off. They made us run. I thought we did a good job of turning when we recovered the ball. It was positive. We made them to have to defend and created enough chances to get a goal.”
The result gives the Hounds a .500 record (6W-6L-2D, 21 points), for the first time since March, as they now sitting in fifth place and lurking in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference.
Riverhounds Lineup / Starting XI / Formation
There’s a sense that the Hounds are settling into a steady lineup rotation, as they went with the nucleus of what’s been their strongest lineup of the past month or so.
Charles Ahl got the nod on the right side of the midfield, where he varied between playing at the top of a 3-4-3, when the group was getting forward, but slid back to the central line when the Hounds were in more of a 5-3-2 defensive shape.
Subs for Pittsburgh keeping legs fresh included: Bradley Sample, Junior Etou and Bertin Jacquesson (72′), Max Broughton (88′) and Jason Bourgey (90’+1).
New Mexico likes having the ball. Hounds let them have it.
The Hounds conceded possession (67/33) and passes (648-268) to a team that can play dynamically and insists on playing it out of the back on the ground.
Pittsburgh’s defensive shape was constantly organized, while they did allow New Mexico to hold the territorial edge for large portions of the match, moving through wide spaces and in the deeper midfield channels.
The Hounds quickly worked their way into the match — ready to dig in for a fight where an effective counter punch would prove to be crucial.
Pittsburgh found the first moment on a near-breakaway for Augi Williams that was turned away by New Mexico goalkeeper Alex Tambakis.
The chess match continued for most of the match.
New Mexico’s best chance from its three shots on frame came aearky in second half when Luke Biasi mistimed his tackle on Mukwelle Akale just outside of the box, giving the visitors a free kick. Akale took the free kick and tried to curl it over the wall, but Dick shuffled quickly to his left to get a palm on the ball and knock it over the bar.
Bada Bing! Not Once, Not Twice, But Three Times the Hounds Hit The Woodwork
It looked like it might have been one of those days.
Oh sure, the Hounds carried out its game plan by being adept at stepping into passing lanes at key moments.
Pittsburgh were constantly bringing pressure to the tune of a 18-6 shots advantage (5-3 on target), thanks to its high press which disrupted New Mexico’s attempts to play the ball out of the back and defensive midfield.
Not quite sure, but New Mexico keeper Alex Timbakas may have kissed the post at one point in appreciation of the Highmark Stadium goal frame he was charged with protecting.
Twice in the first half, the woodwork helped the crew from the ABQ’s cause, denying Guillaume Vacter from scoring his first pro goal.
First, in the 21st minute, the French defender and former UCONN Husky, quickly turned a corner kick by Mertz — and bing! — it banged off the left post.
In the 38th minute, Vacter struck a ball that — bing !!– went off the opposite bar after Sean Suber headed a free kick by Mertz back across the face of goal, denying the French defender a first pro goal for a second time.
Williams would be the next Hounds player denied by the post.
When working his way into the right side of the box, the Sierra Leone native struck a firm shot that — bing !!!– rebounded straight back into play after hitting the upright squarely and bouncing away.
High Press, Swift Execution in Transition Leads to Goal
The match’s deciding moment and the payoff for the Hounds came in the 68th minute.
It came on a transition moment in the final third after high press generated a New Mexico turnover.
With the Hounds pressing high, captain and midfielder, Danny Griffin, playing in a more central role, made the key read — stepping into the passing lane then led the charge to the edge of the box, laying off a pass to the left to forward Augi Williams.
Williams delivered a one-time chance that forced Timbakas to make a kick save, but the venerable Mertz was the man on the spot, coming into center edge of goal box to take one touch to deliver a shot that smacked the back of the net and send Highmark Stadium into a frenzy.
“I know we hit the post three times,” Mertz said.
“It was a timely goal. We needed it.”
Hounds Making A Move Up in Standings
The Hounds now have a couple key matches are coming up, with a bit of a break first, as they’ll wait to face third-place Loudoun United who sit six points ahead, then a road rematch vs Detroit City FC, who they’re tied with in the standings (each at 2o points).
Lilley will keep emphasizing to the group that there are no easy ways to get to the finish line in the current USL Championship.
On the Fourth of July, they faced one of the league’s best teams and passed the latest test with flying colors, but there’s a lot more work to be done.
Player Grades
| 1 | Eric Dick | GK – 6 – Three strong saves. Made one instinctive play that stood out — when coming off the line to the 18 in second half when he dropped ball as he was in danger of crossing line, then in same motion, kicked the ball away wide and safely to outside back. |
| 23 | Guilherme Vacter | DF – 7 – not only was he solid on back line, but showing can be a factor in the box — hitting the woodwork twice! |
| 5 | Sean Suber | DF – 7 – five defensive actions, three recoveries but only was challenged twice (1/2 in duels), and had two shot attempts. |
| 13 | Luke Biasi | 6 Winger – earned another yellow card but had seven passes into final third, five recoveries and won 4/6 duels |
| 3 | Perrin Barnes | 6.5 MF – team low 33 touches for 90 minute performance but was active on both ends of the field (five passes into final third and six defensive actions) |
| 16 | Beto Ydrach | 7 DF – good two-way play — creating a few chances while leading team with 13 defensive actions |
| 2 | Danny Griffin | 8 MF – Stepped into the passing lane with the interception that led to game’s only goal. Numerous times where everything got reset in a good way when ball got on Griffin’s feet in the middle of the field, whether it’s deep in the defensive midfield or when the Hounds are in transition. |
| 42 | Jackson Walti | 6 MF – won 1/6 duels, solid in passing (90% accuracy) but subbed out in 72nd minute |
| 9 | Augustine Williams | 6.5 FW – Active night — had six shots, created one chance but felt like he might have left one or two more chances on the table.. Still, continues to put in two-way work on both sides of field (four recoveries and five defensive actions). |
| 12 | Charles Ahl | 6 FW – emerging as the choice to start on the high attacking midfield line with Mertz. On the ball, had three touches in box and drew three fouls, passing accuracy was down (64%) but did lot both ways. |
| 14 | Robbie Mertz ( | 8 MF/FW – if there’s one player who always seems to be in the right place at the right times, it can be Mertz, who comes through with the goal, but also a very strong performance overall with four chances created, eight touches in the opponents box and won three free kicks, in addition to winning 6 of 10 duels. |
Substitutes |
||
| 31 | Randolph | GK — DNP |
| 6 | Broughton | N/R DF — 88′ — N/R |
| 10 | Bertin Jacquesson | 5 Winger / F – eight touches, won just 1/6 duels |
| 15 | Bradley Sample | 7 MF – solid shift — 12 touches, created a chance and had a shot plus four defensive actions |
| 18 | Garcia | DNP |
| 20 | Bourgey | N/R MF — 90’+1 |
| 8 | Etou | 6.5 Winger – like his energy coming off bench. Won all three duels, drew two fouls |
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