Williams’ brace leads Riverhounds to 2-0 road win
Photo courtesy of Oakland Roots SC
Augi Williams scored early and added an insurance tally as Pittsburgh earned a 2-0 road victory over Oakland Roots SC on Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in USL Championship action.
Williams struck for a goal in the fourth minute and converted on a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time.
The Hounds improved to 8-8-7 while the Roots dropped to 7-12-3. Pittsburgh is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings with 31 points, but is within four points of North Carolina FC for the fourth spot, which would set-up a playoff home match at Highmark Stadium.
The Hounds have seven matches remaining this season. They return home this Saturday against league-leading Louisville City FC (16-1-6). Pittsburgh and Louisville played to a scoreless draw on May 10 in Louisville.
The Hounds had a fast start in their previous match against Tampa Bay, but lost the lead and fell, 2-1.
“That was a positive,” said Pittsburgh coach Bob Lilley on his team’s second straight fast start. “It’s the second straight week we got after it early and got the goal. Last week, I felt like we were still attacking, we just weren’t hungry enough to get the second goal. Today was a little disappointing that, when we scored, we still had a lot of possession, but we’d break pressure in the middle third, and then pull it back. We didn’t create much, and they were able to build into the game late in the half.”
Despite not extending its advantage in the second half, Pittsburgh was able to protect its lead.
“Obviously, when we got the second goal, it let us talk about how we wanted to adjust in the second half,” Lilley said. “I felt like in the second half, we didn’t get a third goal, but Robbie (Mertz) hit some good free kicks in there, we looked dangerous in moments, and we didn’t just sit back.
“We continued to press forward and didn’t just absorb pressure. I’m happy with how we defended overall. I’m happy with how we jumped out in the game. I do think we had some really good play in stretches, and it’s something to build on for next week, but we have to stay aggressive.”
On Williams’ first goal, Mertz moved the ball wide to Luke Biasi, who sent a cross toward the penalty area. Charles Ahl had his header blocked by the Oakland backline, but the ball went straight to Williams, who finished low for a 1-0 lead.
Williams’ brace originated in the final minute of the first half after pressure by the Hounds strikers led to a turnover by Oakland. Williams corralled the loose ball at the top of the penalty area, but the Roots’ Kai Greene tripped Williams in an attempt to regain possession for the home team.
Williams didn’t hesitate on his opportunity to double his squad’s advantage, as he buried the penalty with a hard shot just under the crossbar for his seventh goal this season.
Williams moved into second all-time on the USL Championship’s goal scoring list with 83 for his career. It was also his first multi-goal game during Williams’ time with the Hounds.
The Roots had an advantage in possession (58-42) but Pittsburgh had a 5-2 edge in shots on target. The Riverhounds’ pressure in the first half helped create the penalty opportunity.
“We did a good job of turning them over in their half, and we did last week against Tampa Bay, as well,” Lilley said. “We created a few chances that we’re not cashing in on yet, but we are seeing good moments with our pressure, and that’s something we struggled with earlier in the year. We’ve definitely improved with how we’re pressing.”
Pittsburgh’s backline contributed to keeper Eric Dick’s clean sheet, which was the 30th of his career in the USL Championship.
Dick only had to make two saves, but one was a point-blank stop to deny Julian Bravo in the later stages of the first half. Biasi blocked Oakland’s initial attempt on goal before Duck made the save.
The Hounds had an opportunity in the 37th minute when Bradley Sample headed a Mertz corner kick on goal, but Roots goalie Kendall McIntosh made the save.
Pittsburgh conceded possession as it played with the lead in the second half, but the defense limited Oakland to four touches in its penalty area. The Roots had no shots on goal in the second half.
“We were active and positive in our play, for the most part, but if teams are going to press you, you have to punish them,” Lilley said. “It was good to see the confidence we played with staying on the ball and moving it quickly, but now we need to continue attacking once we’ve played through the lines.”
Sean Suber nearly extended the Hounds’ advantage to three in the 58th minute, as he ran free to meet a Mertz free kick with his head, but McIntosh made the save.
Oakland had an opportunity late in the second half to pull within one, as a counter attack in the 80th minute provided the Roots with space to get into the box, but the Hounds’ Perrin Barnes blocked Ilya Alekseev’s initial attempt on the left side before winning the next tackle and placing the the ball out for a corner.
Williams was named the “Modelo Man of the Match” after not only scoring twice, but for an 8 of 10 win rate on aerial duels (12 of 19 overall) and earning three free kicks, including his penalty that resulted in the brace.