Riverhounds win again

Big second half propels Riverhounds SC past New York Red Bulls II.

New York Red Bulls II goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley watched the ball trickle into his own net, stamped both feet and threw his arms up in frustration.

Toward the end of Riverhounds SC’s 4-1 victory Saturday night at Highmark Stadium, the Red Bulls II shotstopper had suffered from a mix of smooth passing, illplaced deflections and paltry defending in front of him. And the frustration spilled out, even as Anthony Velarde and his Riverhounds teammates celebrated close at hand.

In a second half in which the Riverhounds took complete control of a match that had looked even in almost every department in the first half — barring the scoreboard — coach Bob Lilley’s squad discovered the formula he felt has lacked at times this year.

“We knew if we got the ball out of pressure, we’d have opportunities. And we took them well,” Lilley said. “We were good in the first half. We were better in the second half.”

The Riverhounds opened the USL campaign with two wins, but stumbling blocks came in the form of Indy Eleven and New York Red Bulls II, both resulting in losses via stoppage-time goals. And while Pittsburgh got back on track with a 4-0 walloping of Philadelphia Union II last week, Lilley noticed attacking incongruities in the second half.

Lilley wanted to see something different Saturday night. And he saw it.

“It was a 90-minute performance tonight to wear them down in the first half, go into half with a 1-0 lead,” Robbie Mertz said, “and then add onto it in the second.”

Three minutes into the match, Mertz split the defense with a pass through to Ropapa Mensah, and the striker was taken down in the box by a sloppy challenge from Samad Bounthong. Mertz made no mistake from the spot, sending Lapsley diving the wrong way in goal and establishing a 1-0 lead for the Riverhounds.

It wasn’t until 15 minutes had been played in the second half for the Riverhounds’ pressure to pay more dividends.

“We grinded and tried to wear them down,” Mertz said. “In the second half, you’re going to see one team that’s gonna kind of break, and fortunately we were able to wear them down and take advantage of our chances ... . ”

With defender Ray Lee inserted into the starting lineup after signing Wednesday, Ryan James had more freedom to get up field on attack.

And James made the most of it, with a quick exchange with Mensah down the left side leading to a deflected shot. The ball fell to Mertz, who slotted home his second goal of the match. Four minutes later Mensah bullied a Red Bulls II defender off the ball, powering a strike past Lapsley for the third goal.

Velarde finished with his goal in the 80th minute.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Lilley said. “And the score is not indicative of how physical and competitive a game it was.”