Riverhounds head south for lone road match in July
The defending USL Championship (USLC) title holder Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC finished Prinx Tires USL Cup group play on Saturday, and although head coach Rob Vincent’s team had a goal of advancing to the knockout stage, the Liverpool, England, native is eager to return to the field this evening in USL Championship league play.
Pittsburgh has played two home matches at F.N.B. Stadium this month, and have three remaining, but tonight’s contest is on the road at Sporting Club Jacksonville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
The expansion Sporting JAX are in their first year of play in the USL Championship League, and having a tough season with a record of 0-4-11 and four points, but Vincent believes his squad will not overlook its opponent after suffering a 2-0 setback to 11th-place Brooklyn FC on the July 4 at home.
“Tonight’s match was not as important as Wednesday’s in terms of standings because we knew we wouldn’t be advancing to the knockout round,” said Vincent last Saturday following the Hounds’ 2-0 triumph over Loudoun United FC in the Prinx Tries USL Cup. “However, we wanted to play well after a subpar performance in our previous match. We said at the beginning of the season that we wanted to progress in this tournament, but once we knew we were out of it, we could return our focus to the league.”
Vincent and his staff were able to play with formations and dig deeper into the bench against Loudoun United FC. The Hounds earned a 3-2 home win over Sporting JAX on March 28.
“We had a lot of guys go 90 that hadn’t in a long time, so it was a positive to have them play the full match,” Vincent said. “There were some tired legs out there, but I think we handled the play up until the last part of the match.”
Pittsburgh will be without leading scorer Albert Dikwa, who will be serving a suspension after he was sent off in the July 4 match against Brooklyn FC following an altercation with Brooklyn’s Stefan Stojanovic in the 76th minute. Dikwa, who has seven goals and two assists this season across all competitions, had to serve his one-match suspension in league play.
Despite not having Dikwa, the Hounds’ head man was pleased with the play of Trevor Amann against Loudoun United FC, as he scored from the penalty spot in the 19th minute and had a brace taken off due to being offside by mere inches just before halftime. Amann was replaced in the 61st minute, which was a predetermined decision.
“From what I hear, the offside was close, so he could have had two goals, and I am very happy for him,” Vincent said. “We are obviously going to need him on Wednesday, so we had to get him out of there. We shifted to a front two today, but we will use a front one on Wednesday with Trevor at the top. He will be ready to go.”
Pittsburgh sits in sixth place in Group A with 20 points. The Hounds have a record of 6-2-5. The top eight teams in each group qualify for the USL Championship playoffs. The first four will host a home match in the postseason opener.
The Hounds finished fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings last season, and due to upsets, hosted the semifinals and conference final prior to winning the championship on the road against FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla.
“Once we have everyone healthy, and suspensions don’t help, either, I believe we will start rolling,” Vincent said. “Our guys have dealt with adversity and responded well. We have an opportunity to take advantage of playing at home, but you never want to take anything for granted.”