Riverhounds give 'best performance' in topping Oakland; playoffs up next

Over the last month, Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley felt his team was trending in the right direction even if the results hadn’t necessarily showed it.

Saturday night, the Hounds finally got tangible evidence to prove their progress.

Toby Sims, Russell Cicerone and Kenardo Forbes scored, and the Hounds topped Oakland Roots, 3-1, in the regular-season finale at Highmark Stadium.

“I won’t even say one of our best. … It was our best performance on both sides of the ball and in possession. We always talk about being dangerous, creating quality chances, limiting the other team’s chances and dictating the game with our possession. I felt we were able to do that tonight consistently through both halves.”

The Hounds (16-9-9) are seeded fifth and will travel to Birmingham Legion FC at 6 p.m. Sunday for the first round of the USL Championship playoffs. It’s the same matchup the Hounds were scheduled to have last year before they had to pull out of the playoffs because of Covid-19 cases within the team.

Having a strong performance was a morale boost for the club. It was their first win in the last six games.

“The most important thing is to get the result,” Cicerone said. “You can play all the beautiful soccer you want, but if you don’t win, no one is going to remember it. When it comes down to it, you have to get results. It was nice to get three goals, which was another stepping stone for us. Overall it was an extremely good performance.”

Oakland (11-10-13) came into the night needing a win to guarantee a playoff spot in the West. With the loss, they had to wait to see the result of Las Vegas and LA Galaxy II, which was a 10:30 p.m. kickoff. If Las Vegas wins, it takes seventh place and knocks Oakland out.

The Roots got off to a great start with Juan Carlos Azocar, scoring a top-shelf goal in the eighth minute.

On a corner kick, Jose Hernandez played a ball away from the mass of players in the box to Azocar, who rifled a shot into the top left corner of the net.

The Hounds weren’t deterred. They were able to spring several opportunities but didn’t capitalize until first half stoppage time, when Cicerone crossed a ball to Sims, who settled on it and put a shot into the back of the net to tie it 1-1.

It was Sims’ first USL Championship goal, and it came on his 24th birthday.

In the second half, the Hounds continued to control play and were rewarded when Robbie Mertz crossed a ball into the box and Cicerone headed it home in the 54th minute for the go-ahead goal.

Cicerone has a team-leading 13 goals this season and 29 in his career, tying him with Rob Vincent for fifth all-time in club history.

“I hadn’t scored in a couple games, so it started to feel a little bit like a drought,” Cicerone said. “It was nice to get on the scoresheet and get a little momentum going into playoffs.”

Forbes added an insurance marker in the 75th minute.

Lilley was impressed with the way his team closed down and limited Oakland’s scoring chances. He credited Sims, who made only his sixth start of the season, and Dani Rovira for their defending on the wings against a tall Oakland forward group.

“In terms of defending, it’s all about moving together,” Sims said. “We play a five, so it’s trusting the guy behind you is going to be there if you go forward. That’s something Bob really emphasizes throughout the year. We’re all locked into it. It’s not perfect every time, but tonight I felt was one of our best nights defensively.”

Lilley is hopeful his team can take the momentum accrued with them on the road in the playoffs. There’s an outside shot that the Hounds could host a quarterfinal or semifinal if they advance, but they likely will have to win multiple road games to advance to the finals.

“It’s nice to see the drive and the focus of the guys at this point in the season,” he said. “Look, there’s could’ves and should’ves. It would have been nice to get this sooner, but we can’t look back. Nothing is going to change. We’ll just keep going forward.”