Pittsburgh shuts down the Fury offence
Riverhounds hold to their formula of early scoring coupled with shutdown defence
There had to be a reason the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have been beaten only once all season.
The Ottawa Fury FC now have a first-hand experience of why that is so.
The Riverhounds exploited the Fury FC for a stunning goal off a set play in the 22nd minute and then ground the Fury FC attack to a virtual standstill in winning 1-0 in United Soccer League play Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 4,826 on the pitch at TD Place.
That’s the formula the Riverhounds have used all season: an opportunistic goal and then shutdown defence, which doesn’t necessarily make for the most entertaining style of play.
Just the same, it has been successful as Pittsburgh has allowed just 0.41 goals-against per game (seven goals-against in 17 games) while posting nine wins and seven draws despite scoring just 21 goals. That’s an average of 1.2 goals-for-per-game which gives the club very little margin between winning and losing.
But it does have the club solidly in second place and well on their way to a post-season berth as the league moves into its second half of the regular season.
“It’s not an accident they have only lost one time,” said Fury FC head coach Nikola Popovic. “When they get a one-goal lead, they close the (passing) lines.
“We tried to do it our way. But Pittsburgh is a very good team. Once they scored, they closed the lines we wanted to use to attack.
“The game was very close. We expected that. We knew one set play could be the game.”
The good news is the Fury finally have a down week with six days to prepare for a visit by Penn FC next Saturday afternoon. Penn FC just happens to hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, four points up on the Fury.
That match, combined with their two legs in the Canadian Championship Series against the Toronto FC, kicks off a run of five games in 14 days though four of them are home dates.
Popovic was pointing fingers at the schedule-maker for the 1 p.m. start against Pittsburgh in the heat after a stretch of eight games in 26 days.
“I’m not sure who did the schedule but it’s crazy,” fumed the coach.
Heat or no heat on the TD Place turf and afternoon or evening start, Pittsburgh was always going to be a load for the Fury to overcome.
The Riverhounds have a remarkable total of points in 16 of 17 matches and they went on the attack from the get-go looking for that all-important first marker. And it didn’t take long for a reward.
Just moments after Fury keeper Maxime Crepeau made a brilliant save, Pittsburgh’s Hugh Roberts sent the visitors up by rippling the webbing in the 22nd minute.
The Fury had just defended a corner kick before Riverhound Todd Pratzner sent a kick from near the corner on the opposite side and Roberts headed it in.
The Fury tried in vain late in the game for the equalizer but wound up outshot 4-1 over the 90 minutes.
“We need to start putting points on the board,” said Crepeau, again the best of the Fury as he is most every game. “We need to make our home a fortress like we did in May.”
Crepeau was alluding to a perfect month when the club had three wins and a draw at TD Place.
“We need to get above that red line (in the standings) as soon as possible,” Crepeau continued. “This is a disappointing feeling.
“Pittsburgh’s style is just to score one, then sit back.
“Now we have to focus on Penn FC.”