Riverhounds look to stay sharp for important matchup with Hartford Athletic

Every win matters for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at this point in the season, but Saturday’s contest with Hartford Athletic is one of utmost importance.

Heading into their second meeting of the season, the teams are battling for first place in Group F. Although the Riverhounds lead the group by six points, Hartford Athletic has only played nine games compared to Pittsburgh’s 12 after they had matchups with Philadelphia Union II postponed because of coronavirus concerns.

So, as the teams prepare for another matchup, the Riverhounds know they need to come out with a full three points in order to stay ahead of their group opponents.

“We got the first one, but at the end of the night this Saturday, we could be three points clear, six points clear, or nine points clear depending on the result,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “With them having three games in hand, you can do the math on that. I think we are in good form, and we want to have another sharp performance on Saturday and put ourselves in really good position in the division.”

The teams met two weeks ago at Hartford, and the Riverhounds came away with a dominating 3-0 win after captain Kenardo Forbes went down in the first 10 minutes of the game with a hamstring injury. Since then, both teams have made additions to their lineups and might look different come Saturday.

Forward Albert Dikwa and defender Patrick Bunk Andersen, who made his debut against Hartford, have started to play more minutes. Defender Tony Walls also joined the team this past week and is working to get into playing shape.

Hartford made additions of their own by signing defender Idan Cohen and 18-year-old midfielder Justin Haak, who was acquired on loan from NYC FC. No matter what lineup Hartford puts onto the field, though, Lilley knows his team needs to step up defensively.

“They caused some problems early in the game at Hartford by getting in behind us, so we will have to deal with (Alex) Dixon and (Ever) Guzman up top,” Lilley said. “They have good movement, good pace and some players who are capable of delivering that final ball. So that will be important.”

Dixon and Guzman have tallied the most goals for Hartford this season with a combined seven goals between them. Hartford has also had eight other players find the back of the net.

While the Riverhounds will need to be aware of Hartford’s key players, they will also still need to find a way to put pressure on Hartford’s back line.

During their contest at the end of August, the Riverhounds found success carrying the ball up the wings. Jordan Dover played a key part in two goals and Ryan James tallied two goals, both off the left side of the field. Even though they found success that way, don’t expect the Riverhounds to have the same exact game plan heading into Saturday.

“We pretty much change our game plan every game, so will we play them exactly like we played them last time? No,” Lilley said. “I think there is different ways to skin a cat, and I think we are flexible and versatile enough that we’ve picked up some things that we want to look to exploit. So, we are always trying to grow and tweak our approach a little bit.”

Lilley said Danny Vitiello will most likely start in net on Saturday after Tomas Gomez recorded a clean sheet during the last matchup. It will be Vitiello’s third straight start. But with a deeper bench, Lilley also has other decisions to make when it comes to who he starts for each match.

With four games left, the Riverhounds are looking to end the season on a strong note, and Saturday’s contest is an important one. The teams kick off at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.