Riverhounds give up lead, lose to Charleston at Highmark

With an overflow crowd of 6,115 on hand, the second largest in Highmark Stadium history, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds came out fast and confident Saturday against their oldest rivals, the Charleston Battery.

The Palmetto 11 came into the game with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship — and in the league — and left with a 2-1 win to sweep the season series.

Charleston beat the Hounds, 2-1, on April 12, coming back from being down 1-0 at the half.

An early Riverhounds goal Saturday sent the overflow crowd into a frenzy, but much like in their April encounter, Charleston knotted the score just before the half, then took the lead in the 55th minute.

Riverhounds manager Bob Lilley was not surprised by the Battery’s resilient play.

“They are going to make chances. They move the ball, make a play on it. The reality is we should have had our midfielders back further. We’re watching and wondering why we aren’t coming back and dealing with it. We have to recover.

“We were up 1-0, and they pick up the ball and attack. We didn’t react. We knew they would get chances. Let’s give them credit.”

The fast pace was set early by both teams, but it was the hosts who struck first.

In the 11th minute, team captain Danny Griffin won a ball just across on the Riverhounds (7-7-6) side of the midfield.

He launched it far down the left sideline, where it was won, then sent to defender Luke Biasi.

This was the start of a tick-tac-toe play with a cross from the far-left wing into the box that found teammate Beto Ydrach. Ydrach’s header made its way to Griffin, who had raced all the way downfield.

Standing near the top of the 6-yard box, Griffin placed a shot that clanged off the far-right post but quickly made its way back to Griffin’s right foot. He firmly rifled the ball past Battery goalkeeper Luis Zamudio for a 1-0 lead.

The clubs spent the next 35 minutes trading blows and balls back and forth between each other’s attacking zones.

The visitors took advantage of the three minutes of extra time added.

Charleston (14-4-2) forward Rubio Ruben found a ball that got chipped deep into the box by teammate Matt Myers, who was diagonal of Ruben. His header found the back of the net past Hounds keeper Eric Dick, tying the game.

To begin the second half, each team made an effort to attack, but for the Riverhounds it was a lack of effort on the defensive side that led to the Battery taking the lead in the 51st minute.

Midfielder Arturo Rodriguez found a loose ball that several Riverhounds, including Dick, fought for. Garcia came clear from about 14 yards and placed a low rocket behind the keeper.

The Riverhounds’ best chance to tie came in the 74th minute when a ball that got crossed to the far post of Charleston’s found forward Augi Williams. But he was on the ground and could not find a foot to shoot, ending that threat.

The Hounds have been very good this season when they scored first, holding an 8-1 record. Both losses now have come at the hands of the Battery.

“You’re playing a top team. You have to be at your best,” Lilley said. “Both goals were bad goals. Maybe it all evens out, but we knew we had to make plays. We made a couple of mistakes that cost us. We can’t be so wasteful when we get chances in the box like the one in the first half where Augi is deep in the box.

“He can’t shoot that at the keeper, it has to be at his side. We had more misses inside 6 to 8 yards. Those have to be buried.”

This caps a long run of home games for the Riverhounds, who play six of their final 10 games on the road, starting with a trip Saturday to play the Birmingham Legion. Start time is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be seen on KDKA+.