The Pittsburgh Riverhounds faced a tough New York Red Bulls II on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh would end up taking the loss, 3-2, but would finish the game literally inches away from tying it in the closing seconds.
The Riverhounds, who came off of a dominant win last weekend, would look to scrap for a win against a team that seemed superior on paper. They would keep themselves in the game and played like a top tier team but would come up just short in the end.
The game started off to a slow start for Pittsburgh. New York was able to pass and shoot seamlessly against the Hounds’ defense. In just the blink of an eye, the Red Bulls II had gotten a goal; however, it was not without the help of a Riverhound defender.
In just the fifth minute of the game, New York had driven to the Pittsburgh net, with a perfect pass to midfielder Manolo Sanchez who ensued with a cross where the ball was deflected past goalie Ryan Thompson by the sliding kick of Hounds’ defender, Fejiro Okiomah.
The Riverhounds clearly didn’t help their own cause, however, for there to be any chance of a score, the Red Bulls did a great job in setting up one another and got the ball downfield to find themselves up with an early 1-0 lead.
Just a short time later, in the beginning of the eighth minute, Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr crossed the ball from the right corner of the field to the middle of New York’s box where fellow midfielder Rob Vincent buried the ball past the Red Bulls’ keeper, Santiago Castaño. The Riverhounds had tied the game 1-1.
This 1-1 tie would stay in place all the way through the second half until the 65th minute, when New York would quickly drive up the field, crossing the ball in front of Thompson in where Sanchez ended up heading the ball right past the Hounds goalie and putting New York in the lead, 2-1
A few minutes later, in the 67th minute, Pittsburgh forward Vini Dantas had an amazing chance at scoring when he was able to get the ball after a misplay, and he drove hard down through the box and shot it just wide to the right of the goal.
The Red Bulls had played a solid game on both sides of the ball after scoring their go-ahead goal. Offensively, they carved up the Hounds’ defense, passing between defenders, and as a result found themselves just short of going up by multiple goals.
With hope all but lost for the Riverhounds headed into the last 10 minutes of the game, Kerr and Vincent once again came up in a clutch moment to tie the game at 2-2.
The goal, which was Vincent’s sixth of the season, came from a beautiful pass by Kerr. Vincent, who received the clean pass, drove up a few yards and ripped the ball past Castaño. The tying goal gave Pittsburgh momentum.
In the 88th minute, the Hounds had a shot at the game-winning goal when midfielder Tyler Pasher drove up the left side of the field, crossed the ball to defender Anthony Virgara. The shot was eventually blocked by a sliding New York defender, just feet away from the net.
Just second later the New York had a chance of their own when perfect passing led to Sanchez getting yet another opportunity on net. After dribbling past a few defenders and lobbing the ball to himself, Sanchez shot the ball just high and hit off of the crossbar where a Riverhounds player gobbled up the ball and got it out of harm’s way.
The game, after going into added time, was finally settled after a laser of a kick from New York captain and defensive man Anthony Wallace came after volleying the ball and setting himself up with the game winning shot.
While on paper, the Riverhounds seemed like they had little chance against the talented Red Bulls, they played with focus and finesse this afternoon. The Hounds never gave up and in the very last moments of added time they pressured up to the box and came within inches of having the ball cross the line before Red Bulls defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste stopped the ball and saved the game.
The Riverhounds [2-2-2] will continue on the road next week and play the Charleston Battery this Saturday at 7:30 P.M. EST.
Photo credit: New York Red Bulls
