Fast start leads Riverhounds past Hartford Athletic

After seeing Hartford Athletic score twice in the first 20 minutes of a loss last month, Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley implored his team to step on the pedal early in Saturday’s rematch.

The Hounds responded by scoring three times in the first 21 minutes and turned the tables on Hartford in a 3-1 victory while debuting their new white kits at Highmark Stadium.

Edward Kizza scored on a penalty, Langston Blackstock cashed in from an improbable angle and Emmanuel Johnson was credited with a goal after a gaffe on a clearance by Hartford keeper Greg Monroe.

It was the second win in a row for the Hounds (5-9-6) after a 5-0 drubbing of Oakland last week, and it came in front of a national television audience on ESPN2. They are four points out of a playoff spot.

“We started the game really strong again,” Lilley said. “They’re a tough team to play, but we were brave. We pushed guys forward and again got a goal from a wing back (Blackstock) after getting two from Junior (Etou) last week. We impacted the game early.

“As pacey as (Hartford) is, we couldn’t play scared. We couldn’t sit back. We had to get balls higher up the pitch and take chances. We had to put our stamp on the game and we did that again.”

Junior Etou got the night started by drawing a penalty in the fourth minute when the was taken down by Jordan Scarlett in the box.

Kizza stepped up to the spot and got the keeper to lean to his left, before putting the ball in the right side.

Etou has had a knack for drawing penalties this year, doing so on several occasions.

Last week he took a shot that drew a handball in the box.

“If you’re a defender you have to stop the ball or (Etou) is gone and sometimes you go to stop the ball and he’s even quicker than you think,” Lilley said. “In a game, if there’s two guys racing for the ball, he has a way of getting there first. He’s not the thickest player in the world, so on contact he goes down. But he’s just being active. If we’re getting more balls in the box our wing backs are getting higher up the pitch more consistently and they are going to make plays.”

Blackstock got his first career professional goal in style 15 minutes later. He scored, while being nearly parallel to the goal line on the right side.

After the match he stated he really didn’t know if his intentions were a shot or cross.

“Sometimes when you get in those positions you just hit it as hard as you can and see where it goes,” Blackstock said. “Luckily it found the goal. I was over the moon. I hit it and looked for it and it was in the goal. Then I had to celebrate.”

Johnson’s goal came a minute and 28 seconds after Blackstock’s. It came courtesy of a miscue by Monroe. He kicked the ball off Johnson, who was lurking near him and it deflected into the net.

“EJ is a guy that we’re always on, just keeping him working hard and pressing, because he has the physical attributes and a lot of flair,” Blackstock said. “So, we were happy for him to get his first one and we’re hoping he gets some more. He does a lot for the team. He’s always making runs behind the defenders.”

Mamadou Dieng got a goal back for Hartford in the 34th minute by heading in an excellent cross by Emmanuel Samadia.

Hartford almost got another goal in first half stoppage time, but the play was ruled offside.

The Hounds limited Hartford in the second half and ended up outshooting them 15-6.

They finish off a four-game homestand next Saturday with an important match against Loudoun United, which is five points ahead of them in seventh place.

“Hopefully we can bring Loudoun closer to us next week,” Lilley said. “Loudoun’s quite good, so we’ll need the support of the crowd, and if they are giving us that support we have to bring energy. We’ve done that pretty well the last three weeks.”