Penalty kicks key easy win
First eight minutes set tone in shutout
It was, for Loudon United, something out of a nightmare, albeit one with the downtown Pittsburgh skyline and Monongahela River serving as a scenic backdrop.
Within the first eight minutes of its game against the Riverhounds, Loudon conceded two goals, both of them on penalty kicks, immediately digging itself in a hole out of which it would be onerous, if not impossible, to climb.
The continual blares of the referee’s whistle didn’t wake the visiting side up from the throes of a bad dream. They merely served as a reminder that it was stuck in one.
The Riverhounds seized control of the game Tuesday before it could really even begin in earnest, capitalizing on two penalty kicks in the match’s opening minutes that propelled them to a 3- 0 victory at Highmark Stadium on a night in which they admittedly weren’t their best.
“The guys did their job,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “They got the three points. Were they at the top of their game? No. But they had to work and were put under a lot of pressure and they put up enough resistance to get a clean sheet. That’s a positive. This is a game that was going to be difficult. We needed to get through it to try to have a really strong week.”
A team that had attempted just two penalty kicks in 900 minutes this season doubled that tally before the clock even reached
double digits.
In the third minute, forward Mark Forrest was taken down in the box by Loudon’s Shane Wiedt, a former Pitt player. Forrest finished off the chance, placing the ball forcefully into the left side netting, just out of the reach of Loudon’s Simon Lefebvre. It was the first goal of the season for Forrest, starting in place of star striker Steevan Dos Santos, after logging just 157 minutes over the club’s first 10 matches.
Not even five minutes later, Loudon midfielder Elvis Amoh was whistled for a hand ball in the box, which, again, gave the Riverhounds a high- percentage scoring opportunity. Valverde converted, calmly hitting the ball to his left as Lefebvre threw himself in the opposite direction.
Even when the tables were turned and the Riverhounds had to defend a penalty kick, as they did in the 16th minute after Jordan Dover tripped Loudon’s Jacob Greene, they got the desired result, as Danny Vitiello dived to his left and batted away a lethargic strike from Josh Fawole.
“It’s all about trying to stay focused and mentally challenging the other guy,” Vitiello said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a lottery. The goalkeeper has to guess the right way. He’s got to put it a little inside the post. You’ve got to do the best you can, make the right call and luckily, that’s what happened.”
Thankful that such a performance ended with a win, Lilley was underwhelmed by his team in many ways.
As he saw it, the Riverhounds were flat for much of the game and lacked a certain assertiveness. They weren’t comfortable and nor was Lilley, even with a two- goal lead. Those nerves were calmed in the 88th minute when striker Albert Dikwa, in his first appearance since arriving in
Pittsburgh last week from his native Cameroon, fought through a Loudon defender to get to a through ball and, with the outside of his right foot, skillfully place the ball in the right side netting for a 3- 0 lead and ending whatever dwindling hopes his opponent had for a comeback.
The win was the fifth for the Riverhounds in their past seven games, a stretch in which they’ve lost just once and improved their record to 7- 3- 1. Tuesday’s victory also marked the second time this season they’ve defeated Loudon, joining a 2- 0 road triumph Aug. 19.
The most recent of those victories came as Lilley rested a handful of key players, including Dos Santos and team assist leader Kenardo Forbes. He understands, though, that even with those players, and even with a favorable result Tuesday, his team will need to be better as it heads into its final five matches.
“If we can find a way and the legs to get ourselves in the game against Red Bulls [ on Saturday], hopefully we can have a special week that will really put us in a good position for the tail end of the season,” Lilley said.