Riverhounds play 1 good half, settle for draw with North Carolina FC

The first and second halves couldn’t have been much more different at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night.

A sharp, determined Pittsburgh Riverhounds team spent almost the entirety of the first 45 minutes possessing the ball and looking to break down a North Carolina FC team that was forced to sit deep. Edward Kizza eventually scored.

But in the second half, the Hounds couldn’t keep that momentum and squandered an opportunity to earn three points at home.

North Carolina became the aggressor in the second half and found a tying goal in a match that finished in a 1-1 draw.

“We had a really good first half, but we have to score more than one goal with the dominance we had,” Hounds coach Bob Lilley said. “The second half was the complete opposite. They got the goal back and stayed aggressive.”

The Hounds (3-3-4) were in control of the first half from the beginning. Long stretches of possession forced North Carolina (2-4-5) to keep their wing backs deep, forming a five-man back line.

After seeing several opportunities go by the wayside, they finally broke through in the 44th minute.

Danny Griffin won a ball that deflected to Langston Blackstock in space. Blackstock feathered a pass to Kizza for a tap-in goal.

That was the last real threat the Hounds had, however.

North Carolina came out of the half with more determination to get and keep the ball.

They started to tilt the field in their favor and got the equalizer in the 58th minute when Evan Conway put home a power header off a superb cross by Louis Perez.

From there, North Carolina continued to be the more dangerous team and was the closest to finding a winning moment. After a poor turnover by Hounds defender Luke Biasi, Oalex Anderson got a clear shot off in the right side of the box, but Hounds keeper Gabriel Perotta punched it away.

“We just have to work a little bit harder,” Blackstock said. “I was on Bob’s side, and he kept telling me to go higher, go higher, go higher. It comes down to making sure we’re playing in their half and if they’re going to receive it, they’re going to have pressure on them every single time. We have to come out stronger in the second half of a game.”

To put in perspective how much North Carolina controlled the second half, the Hounds held a 57-43 possession edge at halftime and by the end of the game, it was 53-46 North Carolina.

“We didn’t seem to have the ability to find an outlet pass, and when we did find it, someone turned it over quickly,” Lilley said. “We were desperate for some possession in the second half and had none. We lost it. They pushed the game. It was the opposite of the first half.”

Two former Hounds, Ezra Armstrong and Bryce Washington, were in the North Carolina starting lineup.

The Hounds haven’t lost in their last seven league games, but have four draws in that stretch. They’ll look to get back in the win column next Saturday at Memphis 901 FC.

“It’s disappointing,” Lilley said. “We feel like we have a team that should’ve secured points in Tulsa. We didn’t. We fell behind, we scratched back (for a draw). This time we had the lead and let them back in it. We have to be better. It had a lot of bright spots in the first half, but we have to be more clinical. I’m happy with a lot of the things I saw in the first half, but we wasted a lot of chances.”