Familiar faces to greet Riverhounds in USL Playoffs

UPDATE: This game was canceled because of covid-cases within the Riverhounds organization.

When the Pittsburgh Riverhounds step onto PNC Field they’ll see some familiar faces.

The Riverhounds open the USL Playoffs at 5 p.m. Sunday against Birmingham, which features three former Hounds players: Neco Brett, Ryan James and Thomas Vancaeyezeele.

Brett, who played for the Riverhounds from 2018-19 and is second all-time in team history in goals with 34, has continued to shine in Birmingham. He has a team-leading 18 goals this season.

“He’s had two good years (with Birmingham) and he’s a good goal scorer, so he’ll be a handful for our defenders,” coach Bob Lilley said. “Thomas and Ryan were very consistent while they were here. They’re all very capable players. Birmingham has a strong roster, so we’ll have to have a good game. We’ll have to keep an eye on those guys, but there’s a lot of guys that we’re going to have to match up well against.”

The Riverhounds had a tough match last week with Hartford that ended in a 0-0 draw and subsequently squandered an opportunity to host a first-round playoff game. It was a very physical match with little rhythm and a dozen yellow cards. Aside from all the stoppages, the Riverhounds’ other main issue was settling for long passes instead of possessing the ball and working the ball up the field in order to create space for runs by Russell Cicerone and Alex Dixon.

Being able to possess and make sharp, smart passes is what Lilley has identified as what his team does best and has been encouraging them to get back to that this week.

“We’ve been stressing to the guys this week that we have to look to be dangerous, but it’s not likely we’re going to be as effective just hitting long balls,” Lilley said. “We have to mix up our possession, hang on to balls and switch play. We can’t be so direct. We’re going to play between the lines, change the point of attack and look to be dynamic when we get into the soft spots. Those are the moments when we have to be dynamic with our runs and get behind them and create goal scoring chances.”

Birmingham is hosting a playoff game for the first time in franchise history. The Riverhounds have been a good road team this year, going 8-5-3.

Lilley said both teams are evenly matched, which isn’t a surprise considering it is the playoffs. Both teams have the ability to deploy various tactics and are comfortable doing so.

“We’re going to have to limit the chances for a very talented attacking team, while breaking down a team that was one of the better defensive teams in the league this year,” Lilley said. “That’s not going to be easy, but to defend well possession helps you. To create chances, possession helps you.

“They may take the tactic that Pittsburgh is a good team and we’re at home, so we’re not going to open ourselves up. There may be a feeling out process where both teams are stringing passes together and the pace is a little slower. We have to be prepared for both. Sometimes we go on the road and there’s a respect factor where they aren’t going to get too anxious and leave themselves open for Alex Dixon or Russell Cicerone to go the other way, but they’re a strong team so I expect them to play on the front foot and higher up the pitch to put us under pressure and create more chances in our end.

“They aren’t easy to score against, but neither are we at this point. The two teams have similar characteristics, and it may come down to who executes better on the day.”