Riverhounds shut out at home vs. Memphis

One thing Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley made clear in the postgame press conference is his team will be working on runs in the box this week.

He also said his team’s effort was solid, but the execution was lacking and it led to a rare home defeat, a 2-0 loss to Memphis 901 FC on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

The match was a battle for third place in the USL Eastern Conference standings. Instead of leapfrogging Memphis for third, the Hounds are five points behind them. It was Memphis’ first win against the Hounds and only the second time the Hounds have dropped a match at home this season.

“At the end of the day, it’s disappointing,” Lilley said. “It was 1-0 a long time and there were a lot of balls hit into the box, but we didn’t and we didn’t make runs to the near post. Every ball was cut out by them. They were first to every ball into the box. If you can’t win it, you have to disrupt the play and win a second ball. We were a little bit short there.”

The loss ended a seven-game unbeaten streak for the Hounds.

The first Memphis goal came on a lapse in the Hounds end, where Rece Buckmaster stole the ball and it settled for Luiz Fernando.

Fernando fired a shot between two defenders and past a diving Jahmali Waite into the net to put Memphis ahead 1-0 in the eighth minute.

“We had four guys supporting the play when they scored the first goal,” Lilley said. “We weren’t ready in goal to make a save and no one was willing to step and double team the ball, so we gave up a shot. It’s a mental error to give that much space just outside the penalty box when you have that many players back. It’s a tough way to concede a goal.”

The Hounds pushed for a tying goal the rest of the first half. Albert Dikwa had two clear looks, but one went wide and the other was stopped by an outstretched arm of Memphis keeper Trey Muse.

In the second half, Memphis dropped back and packed the box and did not yield a shot on goal in the second half. The Hounds’ best chance to score came in the 63rd minute.

In a rare moment of space, Dane Kelly fired a shot from left of the 18-yard box that grazed the crossbar on its way over the net.

It was a frustrating night for the forward group.

“That was their gameplan,” Riverhounds captain Kenardo Forbes said. “They wanted to slow the game down once they got the first goal. They played well, but it’s more on us. We didn’t execute. Even though they packed it in, we created a lot of chances. We just have to execute better. That’s the focus going into training on Monday.”

The Hounds play last-place New York Red Bulls II in Pittsburgh next Saturday. Three points will be critical in the match, because the Hounds have dropped behind Birmingham Legion by one point for fourth place and the right to host a playoff game.They are nine points behind first place Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“You just have to hate losing,” Forbes said on rebounding from Saturday’s result. “We had a six-game winless streak earlier this year, and that was hard for us. Everyone became more frustrated each day. We don’t want to go back to that. The guys know what’s at stake. We’re at the back end of the season, so we have to bounce back even quicker.”