Riverhounds expect different dynamic in second matchup with Indy Eleven

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds travel to Indianapolis this weekend for their second meeting of the season with Group E leader Indy Eleven.

The last time the Riverhounds (4-2) met with Indy Eleven (5-2-1), they put together one of their best performances of the season, if not the best. Still, former Riverhound Tyler Pasher made time stand still as he scored in the final minute of the game after receiving the ball around midfield, giving Indy Eleven a 1-0 win July 22.

That loss was Pittsburgh’s first of the season and beginning of a two-game losing streak. Since that skid ended on Aug. 1, the Riverhounds have won their past two games, and Pittsburgh coach Bob Lilley believes this time around, the teams will make adjustments.

“I think that the game will be much different,” Lilley said. “I still think it will be physical, I still think it will be two good teams slugging it out, but I think they will show a lot more interest in hanging onto the ball and making us chase. We are going to need to have better possession of the ball, and I think there’s a bit more room to play and the team that can get ahold of the ball will have the advantage.”

During the July meeting, the Riverhounds controlled 53.2% of the possession and completed 427 passes compared to Indy’s 385. As they head into Saturday’s matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium, Lilley said the Riverhounds don’t need to hold onto the ball that much, but they definitely don’t want to have Indy controlling the possession completely.

“We don’t expect to necessarily win the possession when we go to Indy,” Lilley said. “But we don’t want to be in a position here they have 65% of the ball and we have 35. That’s going to wear us down and it’s going to make it extremely difficult in the second half. We want to make sure that we are getting at least over 40%.”

While the Riverhounds need to control some portion of the possession, they also need to put together a solid defensive performance, with a focus on Pasher. The 5-foot-10 forward from Elmira, Ontario, Canada, is tied for the USL Championship scoring lead with seven goals and can be dangerous any time he touches the ball.

Pittsburgh’s Dani Rovira matched up with Pasher the first time around, man-marking him all over the field, and only allowed him to get off two shots and create one chance. But while the Riverhounds have to have a defensive mindset, they also need to be ready to take advantage of any opportunity they might get.

“We have to be prepared to do the things that we can do to be successful on the ball,” Lilley said. “We don’t want to get into a mindset where we are just defending their players. We have to go in there with a clear plan of how we are going to win the game. That’s why we are going there. I don’t think it serves us well to just hang around and see what happens. We are going to have to go in and play and take our chances.”