Riverhounds play Louisville to scoreless draw, gain ground in race for home playoff game

Not all draws are equal.

After a pair of disappointing draws to teams at the bottom of the table in their previous two home games, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds faced off against the top team in the Eastern Conference, Louisville City, and went toe-to-toe with them.

The only thing they didn’t do is find a goal and ended up playing to a scoreless tie Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

With the draw and a 4-3 win by Indy over Birmingham, the Hounds moved one point ahead in the battle for fourth place and a home playoff game. The Hounds travel to Birmingham on Wednesday for a crucial matchup.

The Hounds and Louisville were practically dead even in every statistical category. It was a much more intense and focused performance than in the draws against Charleston and New York.

“It was a very physical match with a lot of closing in space by both teams,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “It was a lot of direct play and guerrilla warfare in the middle of the field. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but you saw grit, effort and determination. You need that sometimes. It had a playoff-type feel, and we’re going to have play the last six games this way because of the level of competition. Nothing is going to come easy. I’m proud of the effort that they put in.”

The best chance for the Hounds to score came during a wild sequence in the 53rd minute.

Albert Dikwa played a cross deep in the box that deflected off Louisville defender Oscar Jimenez and trickled toward the goal line. Jimenez was able to chase the ball down and clear it off the line. The ball came to Robbie Mertz, who blasted a shot on goal, but it hit a Louisville defender and ricocheted away from the net.

“I’m frustrated that it didn’t go in, but, to be honest, I wouldn’t have done anything different,” Mertz said. “I got the contact that I wanted. As I was coming in, I thought there was going to be a little more space between the ball and the defender, so I tried to get it off the ground and thought it would go in. He did a good job getting himself back on the right side of the goal line.”

With Shane Weidt and Nate Dossantos unavailable for Saturday’s game, Lilley gave Angelo Kelly a start at right back. Kelly is typically a midfielder, but he acquitted himself well in the position change.

“Angelo has experience, and he’s a good soccer player,” Lilley said. “Some other guys have had opportunities out there and have been inconsistent. Angelo has been consistent for us more times than not. He’s in a really competitive central midfield area, and with Shane out and Nate out it makes us a little thinner at the back. We have some other guys but not many with as much experience as Angelo.”

The Hounds go into Wednesday’s meeting with Birmingham in good form on the road. After a rough start to the season as the visitors, they carry a 5-0-1 record in their last six away from home.

“We were solid tonight, and we competed well. That will win us a lot of games,” Lilley said. “We’ll try to have that type or performance in Birmingham. The challenge will be that we’re on the road. There might be a little more heat, and it’ll be on grass. Everything will be a little bit different, but we’ll need the same effort.”

The Hounds honored 2022 hall of fame inductee Gene Klein at halftime. Klein coached the team from 2005-10. He also served as the team’s general manager and founded the Riverhounds’ youth academy. He then became one of the team’s broadcasters.

Klein also had a long, successful career coaching at Quaker Valley, where he won more than 500 games and guided the team to six state titles.