Carter Manley puts it away low and right on a cross from Nicky Hernandez and the Hounds are down late, 1-0.Ĩ5′: San Antonio has a free kick from 30 yards and puts off the top of the crossbar.ħ9′: Riverhounds make a change Edward Kizza for Russell Cicerone and Kelly-Rosales is on for Robbie Mertz.ħ8′: David Loera (SA) takes a good shot low and hard, but Jahmali Waite saves it.ħ7′: It’s been a pretty slow match. Dani Rovira and Luis Argudo come on for Alex Dixon and Shane Weidt.Ĩ6′: GOAL San Antonio. Photo Galleryĩ0′: Zebras announce 4 minutes of stoppage time.Ĩ8′: Riverhounds subs. One wonders if the sounds of a another teams celebration might not inspire the Riverhounds to think what it might take for them, too, to get a chance at some celebrating this season. The San Antonio players could be heard jumping and shouting for joy just a few meters below the less enthusiastic and more somber proceedings of the Riverhounds as they engaged in their postgame carbo-reloading and protein regeneration. Their victory, 1-0, would clinch San Antonio’s place as the best team in all of the USL Championship in 2022. San Antonio has just watched the final minutes of Miami FC’s match against Memphis. Just before he joined the postgame conference, a rumble and a cheer came up from down below the conference room. “It’s frustrating to give up goals at the end of the game,” Ordóñez said, shaking his head gently. But at the end, San Antonio found that late goal that they needed to steal all three points. The game certainly had the feel of one that would be hardscrabble and scrappy down to the wire, and had all the tell tale marking of a 0-0 draw, including two straight hours of dreary drizzle and Fall-temperature rain that tamped down attendance. We knew this was going to be a really hard game.” (But) we were razor sharp at moments.”ĭefender Arturo Ordóñez stated the match from his perspective – a battle in the trenches and in the air between large-sized strikers and center backs jostling and shoving for position, moment after moment. We need to be playing at a high level going into the playoffs. “We could’ve beat a team like New York Red Bull II 3-0 tonight, but if they’re not a playoff team it doesn’t matter. They gave a team atop the Western Conference with 73 points nothing short of a fit in trying to breakthrough against them. We need to do it for 90 minutes.” But the other lesson was that the Riverhounds are capable of playing at the highest levels in this league. “The first 60 minute of the game, we were the better team. San Antonio produced a healthy 0.84 xG – most of it from action after the 77th minute.Ĭoach Lilley understood the lesson of the game to be about persistence and durability. Meanwhile, San Antonio was kept off the ball and out of sorts for long stretches of the match, until they could both possess and take chances through the final ten minutes, resulting in the goal that finally did in the Hounds. G+ GameFlow: USL Championship Regular Season v on October 01, 2022. In total, Opta recorded all the Hounds chances adding up to just 0.17 Expected Goals on the night. Dixon would have one more chance in the 53rd minute, and that would be it for the Riverhounds attack. Pittsburgh would get three chances in minutes 28 and 29 off a cross, followed by a corner, and then a shot from Alex Dixon. Their first shot came at 15′ from a Danny Griffin chance from outside the box. Pittsburgh was less successful, however, at creating chances during the match. The Hounds did an excellent job controlling tempo and keeping their opponent from having too much time on the ball for the first 60 minutes. Manley donkey kicked (back-heeled?) the ball past Hounds keeper Jahmali Waite in the 86th minute to take the lead.īeautiful finish from puts in the lead! #PITvSA /OPH56V9qRFĪ few minutes later, the referee would blow his whistle and make it official. It was on one such play that SAFC got an open cross into the box from Nicky Hernandez to an awkwardly positioned Carter Manley. Only in the final 15 or 20 minutes did San Antonio begin to find space after wearing down the Hounds, allowing them to create more chances, get rebounds, and recycle the ball effectively. Pittsburgh put in a good shift against their big, physical opponents matching them in possession time, successful duels and shots and matching them in overall intensity and success for two-thirds of the game. “My focus is on us going to the playoffs.” “They’re a good team, and we played really well,” said Coach Lilley after the match. The Hounds played well against the league leaders, and it was a performance that the coach took heart from. Neither the rain, nor the loss, nor the Riverhounds being effectively eliminated from having a home playoff game would dampen the mood of head coach Bob Lilley on Saturday night as the Riverhounds were defeated 1-0 on a late goal from San Antonio defender Carter Manley.
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