The USL regular season is drawing closer and closer to the finish line with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the fence of qualifying for the playoffs. Tonight the Hounds traveled to the home of the Wilmington Hammerheads FC, currently placed at the basement of the Eastern Conference.
Facing a team that has nothing to play for, it was expected of the Riverhounds to take care of business. Finishing in a 1-1 tie, Pittsburgh played the vast majority of the second half down a man. Needing as many points possible, leaving the game in a tie is a better situation than going into next week with a loss.
The first goal of the game came from the Hammerheads in a truly seamless play. In the 15th minute Andrae Campbell drove home a laser of a shot past Hounds’ keeper Calle Brown. The goal, giving Wilmington an early 1-0 lead, was setup against a lackadaisical Pittsburgh defense that adjusted before it was too late.
Before the first half ended Rob Vincent had multiple chances at giving the Hounds a goal. The first came in the 33rd minute when the Riverhounds standout shot from 30 yards away, but glided right into the hands of Wilmington’s goalkeeper, Andre Rawls.
Vincent’s second attempt was stopped cold in its tracks as Rawls made an outstanding play on the ball that came within a hairs length of giving the Hounds a score. The play came off of a corner kick that curved right into the feet of Vincent.
Not too far into the second half, the Riverhounds would end up being left with only 10 men on the field as Sterling Flunder was given a red card following a physical play that would give him a seat on the bench for the rest of the game.
Down by a man, Pittsburgh battled back finding opportunities to score. In the 70th minute the Hounds scored their first goal in a similar fashion as the Hammerheads. Kevin Kerr quickly found Matt Dallman who gave up the ball to scorer Vini Dantas who nodded in a beauty past Rawls.
Pittsburgh began to pick up the pace in the closing minutes, including the added five minutes, but the close shots wouldn’t matter as Pittsburgh would tie with Wilmington 1-1. The Hounds put together an overall good effort to prevent another late game collapse by the defense, however not picking up a win could prove to hurt Pittsburgh down the stretch.
With only two more games left in the season, and the Riverhounds competing for a playoff position, next week’s game is momentous. Pittsburgh will be hosting the Rochester Rhinos in their final home game of the season at 7 p.m.
Photo Credit: @WilmHammerheads FC
