Riverhounds work Miami FC to draw at Highmark Stadium

Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley was much more pleased with the energy and overall fight his team showed Saturday compared to the first two home games it had this season.

The positive that came from the inspired effort was its first home goal of the season.

That first home victory, however, remained elusive.

Russell Cicerone scored in the eighth minute for the Riverhounds, but a late-first-half goal by Christiano Francois helped Miami FC earn a 1-1 draw at Highmark Stadium in Lilley’s 100th game at the helm.

“I thought we kept the tempo high and tried to put the ball in dangerous areas,” Lilley said. “I thought we had much better intensity with what we were trying to do than what we had in the Austin and Charlotte home games. There were definitely signs tonight of a team ready to compete. I feel bad for the guys because I think they did enough to win tonight, but it’s a cruel game sometimes. If our standard is what we had tonight, I think we’ll see the results come our way.”

The Riverhounds controlled possession for the early portions of the game, and Cicerone cashed in with a goal off a nifty feed across the box from Alex Dixon. It was Cicerone’s fourth goal of the season and finally broke the seal for the Riverhounds at home after a 1-0 loss to Charlotte in the home opener and another 1-0 defeat against Austin last Sunday.

“Because we worked so hard in the buildup, that made it an easy goal,” Cicerone said. “I knew Dixon, with his speed, would get around the edge and that he knew where the soft spot was going to be. I told (forward Albert) Dikwa to make a run to the back post, and the backs fell off leaving me open. It was a great team goal, and it can attest to the chemistry we’re building.”

Cicerone’s goal held up until a breakdown in the 48th minute allowed Francois, a former Riverhounds striker, to notch his first goal of the season. The ball nearly was cleared off the goal line by the Riverhounds defense, but it found its way into the net.

“They capitalized on a long ball that we didn’t deal with,” Lilley said. “We didn’t win the first guy that popped free, and the ball ended up behind us. We should be winning that with our size in the backline. We didn’t track the runner, and we were slow to react. (Goalkeeper) Danny (Vitiello) was a little hesitant. If he comes of the goal line right away, I think he covers that and we could’ve cleared it off the line. It’s disappointing that one mistake cost us a goal.”

The Riverhounds had a couple of opportunities to break the tie in the second half. The best chance came in the 60th minute on a point-blank strike by Dixon that was thwarted by a sprawling save from Miami keeper Connor Sparrow.

Another chance came in the final minute of extra time when Dixon had the ball in the penalty area but was knocked down on what was deemed a legal tackle, and the Miami defense cleared the ball out of danger.

The Riverhounds play twice on the road next week: Tuesday at Indy and Saturday at Tampa Bay.

“We knew this was going to be a tough week going into it,” Lilley said. “We play three really good teams, including Miami tonight. I think this next week will show where we really are.”