Riverhounds look to rebound against Philadelphia

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are looking to get back on track.

For the first time in almost two years, the Black and Gold have lost two straight games. On Saturday evening, the Riverhounds (2-2-0) will have a good opportunity to get back in the saddle when they host Philadelphia Union II (0-3-1) for their second meeting this season.

When the two teams played in Philadelphia two weeks ago, the Riverhounds put on a show. They scored six goals, four of which came in the final 45 minutes, and controlled 62.3% of the possession in a dominating performance.

It was the type of outing coach Bob Lilley was looking for from his squad. But the Riverhounds have endured a tough stretch of games since, losing both games in extra time of the second half. Now, Lilley is looking for his team to get those points back.

“We’ve let some points get away,” Lilley said. “Now it’s time to start trying to make up for some of those points we let out of our grasp. We need to go get them and get them back.”

While the Riverhounds are entering Saturday’s match in a slump, Philadelphia has yet to win a game. The Union has lost three straight games after starting with a draw against Loudoun United FC on March 7, but that doesn’t mean they will be a pushover.

Last Saturday, the Union jumped out to an early lead against Hartford Athletic, scoring two goals in the first 20 minutes. As the game carried on though, Hartford battled back, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 70 minutes to escape with its third victory of the season.

When it comes to Saturday’s matchup with Philadelphia, Lilley is focused on getting his team ready to hold the possession and be poised through the early moments of both halves so they can avoid that early burst of energy from a young team.

“Once you get through the first early stages of both halves, it will be important for us to get on the ball and stretch the field and make them chase,” Lilley said. “We were very good about that in Philly and we had a good first half and an even better second half. So, we’ll want to be able to do that. I think they’ll be more organized and prepared, but I still think if we execute, I think they’ll struggle to keep us from having our share of the ball.”

Although Philadelphia is coming into Pittsburgh on the wrong end of a slump, Lilley knows there are still a few things they need to be prepared to see from the young team. When they scored their two goals against Hartford, the Union were able to get in behind their defense, which is something the Riverhounds have struggled with during their past two games.

“Philly is getting better and if they get a few early chances and get a goal their confidence is going to soar, and they are capable of causing the same problems New York Red Bulls did,” Lilley said. “So, we need to tighten up some things in the back. We haven’t given up a ton of goals, but I don’t think we’ve hit our stride defensively.”

The Riverhounds may be on a slide they haven’t experienced in quite some time, but they are motivated to get back on track Saturday, and Lilley is making sure his players will be ready to go.

“It was tough to lose the way we did against Indy, but New York, yeah I’m trying to use that as a motivator,” Lilley said. “I feel like we owe the city something, we owe the owner, we owe the organization.”

The two teams will kickoff at 7 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium.