Riverhounds Defender Ed Hayden will be keeping an exclusive blog right here on riverhounds.com throughout the Hounds 2009 season.  Look for a new blog every Friday and follow along for a unique, behind-the-scenes look at everything that is going on with the Hounds this summer!

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8/7/2009
Pittsburgh, PA

HEY EVERYONE!!!!  It's been a very long time since the last blog, but my intention was to keep you on your seats waiting for the next installment!!  Things have been a bit busy with our summer community camps, summer academy and pool league, individual training, and our own training sessions and games, so it's been a bit tough to get in the mindset for the blog.  With that said, the blog is back in full effect!!  We've had a tough few weeks as far as games go, but the team is still upbeat and looking to come away with victories for our last two home games.  We still have a chance at the playoffs, although we must depend a bit on results from other teams, but that's the situation we are in and have to deal with it.  We know that all we can do is look to win our games and hope for the rest of the pieces to fall into place.  Training sessions have been intense, with the main focus on getting forward as a unit, creating chances, and finishing those chances.  We've gone through a bit of a change as far as our offense goes, due to Randolph Jerome having to go back to Guyana to sort out his visa.  Although we will be missing our leading goal scorer, we are confident that players like Tommy Gray, Bill Brinley, and Jeff Hughes will come up big for us in their respective offensive positions.  As a team we are looking forward to the chance to knock off a team like Charlotte at home, and are hoping that we have a good turn out of fans like we have the last few home games.  So with that said, don't be afraid to slap a few drums with the Steel Army and have a good time at the game tomorrow night, which will be Ladie's Night. 

For Ladie's Night, tickets will be sold to all attending Ladie's for $4.  There will be a raffle during the game with the chance to win 4 prizes.  The first being a Riverhounds away jersey signed by the team.  The second prize will be a Riverhounds Gift Bag, which will include a Riverhounds grey zip hoody, a Riverhounds blue t-shirt, a ticket and a free parking pass to the August 15th home game, and the Riverhounds drawstring bag which all of the gifts will be inside.  The third prize will be a Ladies Gift Basket inlcuding a nail gift certificate and an hour long massage gift certificate, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a loofah, and a $15 Starbucks card.  The final prize will be a Riverhounds Bag Set, including a signed media guide, a 15 minute massage coupon, a $10 Starbucks card, and the drawstring Riverhounds bag that the item will be in.  Every lady in attendance age 18 or older will recieve a free raffle ticket, and other tickets can be purchased 2 for a dollar, or an arm's length for $5.  Also, the new Riverhounds Replica shirts will be available in #8 Hayden, and #11 Gibson, so be sure to check those out at the merchandise tent!!!

7/4/2009
Hamilton, Bermuda

After a good win over the Hogges thursday evening the team got to relax a bit yesterday.  Everyone hung out, saw the town, and spent some time in the beautiful ocean.  Although we took a relaxing day yesterday, we have a big challenge ahead of us to get another win tonight.  The local paper has blasted their team, calling out individual players as well as their coaches, saying that "if they had any honour they would return the money paid to them for the game they played."  Needless to say that will make them want to come out with something to prove to their fellow countrymen and fans.  The game tonight has a huge impact on the rest of our season as well; if we can gain these 3 points, it will be crucial for the second half of our season.  Check back on the site for the result, and everyone have a happy and safe 4th of July!!!

6/20/2009
Ludlow, MA

A day late on the blog update, but after an 11 hour bus ride to Massachusetts, the last thing on my mind was this!!  It’s an overcast day here and a bit humid, but towards nightfall it should be a good evening for a match, as long as the rain holds off.  After a jog and stretch this morning everyone seems to have gotten the bus ride out of the legs, and are ready for a battle this evening.  Western Mass is a team that we are all familiar with, having quite a few players that have been around the league for a number of years.  With that being said we are familiar with their style of play, and the tendencies of some of their key players.  They are coming off of a 4 game home win streak, so it is very crucial for us to come out with a high level of intensity.  Their field is natural grass, so we finally get to play on something other than the turf that most of the league plays on, but the facilities at the stadium are not so great.  None of that is any concern for us though because we have in our minds what we need to get out of this trip, and that is 3 points.  A win tonight will put us a point ahead of Western Mass and mid-table in the league, so we’re going to come out flying with everything we have.  I’m going to have to hold off on a topic of discussion for this week, but will be back next week with one for sure.

6/12/09
Pittsburgh, PA

Hey everyone, sorry about missing out last week on the blog, it was kind of busy for myself and team with training and appearances, but I’m back!!!  It’s been a long week so far playing 2 games in 2 days, including traveling to Rochester and back by bus.  First result on tuesday was an unfortunate loss to the Rhino’s in the Open Cup.  It was a hard fought battle, with all of our guys giving everything we had for 120 minutes.  We ended up losing in PK’s, but we all felt we deserved to win, and held our heads high knowing that we gave everything we had for the Riverhound’s jerseys.  For those of you that watched on USL Live...Thank You!!  We appreciate the support even if we cant hear your cheers.  For those of you that did not watch on USL Live...visit the website www.usllive.com click on archives, register, and watch an entertaining game, even if it isn’t live!!!

After the 5 hour bus ride back to Pittsburgh tuesday night, we had a light training session wednesday night in preparation for our game last night against Bermuda.  Again we put forth a very hard working effort and came out on top thanks to Justin Evans finding me on a corner kick.  It was a very entertaining game in which we had the majority of possession, and created some great scoring chances.  Everyone is feeling very good after 2 league wins in a row, and we are all looking forward to our next game.  We play Richmond at home on sunday, and are looking to take advantage of them being on the road for 2 games in 2 nights.  They will be playing Real Maryland on saturday night and traveling here afterwards for the game sunday.  None of us are expecting anything less than another tough battle, but we are all looking forward to the opportunity to try and take advantage of their road situation, and with the momentum of 3 well played games behind us, we believe we can get the win. 

Now on to the topic of discussion for this week, which is what our team is trying to ride right now, momentum.  Momentum defined in the dictionary is simply force or speed of movement.  But momentum can be applied to sports using a chain of events within a game, or a chain of outcomes of games, resulting in a team being able to play at top performance.  We have all been witness to momentum in game time situations.  Whether it be the Pens coming from behind to win a Stanley Cup Playoff Series, or Manchester United clinching their third Premier League Title in a row.  Both of those are situations where the team is able to use the game winning momentum and continue on to win more games, but there are also many momentum changes within an individual game. 

Things like goals, tackles, and substitutions can help to change the momentum of a game.  The Champions League Final from 2005 between Liverpool and AC Milan is a great example of how momentum can change during a game, and in turn effect the outcome.  For those of you that can recall that game, AC Milan took the lead in the first minute of play, and looked to control the game through out the first half.  After many chances to convert during the half, they finally notched 2 more goals within 5 minutes of eachother right before the halftime whistle.  It seemed as though the game had been put away by Milan, being 3 goals up at half, and having the better of play while having a lot of momentum.

That momentum switched from Milan’s side to Liverpool’s, by a substitution and formation change at halftime resulting in a goal within the first 10 minutes of the half.  Momentum proved to be a driving force behind Liverpool’s play, helping them to score 2 more goals within 6 minutes, making the unbelievable possible, and resulting in a 3-3 tie.  The game was played out through 2 overtimes, and penalty kicks, with the end result being Liverpool overcoming the largest deficit in Champions League history and winning the final 3-2 on PK’s. 

Time and time again, it is shown that momentum can help to be a game and/or season deciding factor in sports.  As far as the Riverhound’s are concerned, we are making strides to keep the momentum with us, and keep the win streak going.  Aside from goals, substitutions, cards, and tackles, fans can play a huge roll in a teams momentum during a game.  With that said I extend the invitation to everyone that is a soccer fan in this great city of Pittsburgh to come support YOUR Hounds in our next game sunday evening.  It is also going to be a great opportunity to help the community because we will be honoring the Fallen Heroes of the Pittsburgh Police, and doing fundraising for the Fallen Heroes Foundation.  Local Police will be in attendance with their families and friends, as well as a color guard presenting the American Flag for the National Anthem.  Hope to see you all out for what will be a great night for the community, and a huge game for the Hounds!!!!

5/29/09
Charlotte, NC

Game tonight against Charlotte. It was a long bus ride last night, but seemed a bit shorter due to an abundance of movies brought on the trip. We got in late, but in time to watch the MLS game of the week. Today we woke up for a jog and stretch and got to play a bit of 5v2 for about a half an hour. It was a good way to get the bus ride out of our systems and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Everyone seems upbeat and ready to play tonight. We talked a bit about the game and how we are going to go about playing, seeing as how we have two games in two days. 

Over the last week we have been working on keeping the ball and making good decisions on the ball. With the heat and back to back games being an issue, it will be very important to the outcome of our games to take control of the game, and control the tempo. Although Charlotte haven’t had many good results this season, they have a lot of seasoned vet’s and we can’t come out taking the game lightly. We travelled this week with two more players then usual due to the fact that we have a challenging two games in 24 hours. Even though we want to keep the ball, control the tempo, and control the game, no one is going to hold anything back tonight seeing as how we have extra players to help get the job done.

5/22/09
Pittsburgh, PA

Weekend off of competition for the Hounds. Although we have no match this weekend we still have to focus and get mentally prepared for the long trip ahead of us next weekend.  We are all very disappointed in dropping 6 points to Harrisburg in the course of a week.  They were two tough games, but we managed to give them away due to the fact that we couldn’t control the tempo of the games, nor could we create an abundance of opportunities to score.  Over the course of this week we have again focused on tactical shape, ball possession, and decision making on the ball, with the hope that we are all getting more comfortable and will gel better as a team as soon as possible.  We have also been working on a very important aspect of the game...fitness.  For the most part we are all very fit individuals, but next week is the hardest road trip of the season.  Playing back to back nights in Charlotte and Wilmington is very trying on players.  Not only is it very hot in those southern cities, but the time spent on the bus travelling slows down players recovery.  We have two days off this weekened for the holiday, which aren’t really "off" days; due to the fact that all of us are professionals and know the importance of staying active even when we have "off."

This weeks topic for the rest of the blog is decision making during the game, which comes down to risk vs. reward.  During the course of a game, the outcome is usually determined by a few plays.  Whether these plays come from amazing individual skills, or horrible defensive mistakes, a decision was made by a player.  When making decisons during a game, players can be asked to weigh the risk of their decision against the reward of what the decision may produce.  Some of the best goal scorers in the world are always trying to put themselves in good positions to score, which in turn may make it easy for the defending team to play out of pressure upon winning the ball.  Some of the best defenders in the world do not bomb down a sideline into the attack every chance they get, which may not help create offensive opportunites, but does help solidify the defensive shape.

If you have watched games in the Primera Liga for the last few seasons, you may be familiar with a player named Daniel Alves da Silva, or Dani Alves for short.  He is a right back for La Liga champions Barcelona and a staple in the defense of the Brasilian National Team.  He is a very intelligent and speedy outside back, who loves to get forward into the attack and beat defenders one on one.  Prior to joining Barcelona, Dani Alves played for Sevilla, another team in the Spanish League.  He solidified his role there by playing a very attack minded style, scoring 5 goals for the club in his last season there; proving his worth, and ultimately leading to his tranfer to Barcelona in 2008.  Dani Alves is a player faced with the risk vs. reward decision making every game.  Every run he makes forward leaves the right side of his teams defense vulnerable if possession is lost.  Risking leaving his teams defense with one player less is put against the reward of having and extra player forward to help possess the ball in dangerous areas everytime the ball is on the right flank.  The reason Dani Alves plays as well as he does, and is part of a European giant of a football club, is due to the fact that he can embrace this style of decision making and use it to his advantage by picking his moments wisely.

As an outside back, I am faced with some of the same decisions Dani Alves is faced with during a game situation; should I make an overlapping run, should I try to beat a player one on one, should I relieve pressure and play long or try and keep possession in small areas?  All of these are questions of risk vs. reward which every player at every level of the game asks themselves.  At this point, a quarter through the season, it is becoming much easier to make these decisions because I am getting to know the tendencies of all the people I play with.  The game of soccer is a daily learning experience, where you learn from other players, coaches, and the outcome of the decisions you make as a player.  The best players in the world are very good at making these decisions, and do them so effortlessly that is seems as though there is no decision being made, just an action being performed.  As a player, you should always remind yourself of the risk that is being taken with every decision made, and note the reward achieved by making that decision; but always remember that there is no reward without a bit of risk.

5/15/09
Pittsburgh, PA

Day before our second home game against Harrisburg. It’s been another good week of training coming off of the loss at their place last weekend. We’ve been working hard, focusing on defensive shape, and have made a few adjustments tactically which we feel will help us expose their weaknesses. We have an unfortunate loss this weekend, in our starting keeper Varga, but we are all confident that Dan the Wall-tman will be able to produce for us and we are backing him 100%. It’s going to be another battle tomorrow evening, and we’re all getting ready to come out flying and work hard to get another home win.

When starting this blog I wasn’t really sure what to write about besides the outlook for the matches, but a good friend of mine, Scott Gibson, gave me a bit of insight on how european player blogs are written. So after listening to him and reading a few blogs that he reads weekly, I’ve decided to add a bit more then just a pre-match synopsis. Each week I will pick a topic relative to players, coaches, and the game in general, and elaborate on it. This weeks topic, which is very relative to this weeks match, is games played at home. 

Home field advantage is something that everyone has heard of, and although it may not be that big of an advantage at the youth soccer level, in the collegiate and professional level, it can make a huge difference. Many times teams travel distances in vans, buses, or planes, and are forced to stay in hotels the night before games. Travel is sometimes uncomfortable, and sleeping in places that are not your own home can take a toll on players mentally and physically. These adverse situations are what away teams face, while they are opportunities for home teams to take advantage of.

Aside from travel, there are home teams crowds and support groups. Sometimes support can provide momentum for the home team, or cause mental lapses for away players, ultimately having an effect on the games outcome. If you look back at the 2002 World Cup, South Korea was able to make it to the semi-finals, overtaking now World Champions Italy in a golden goal match, and now European Champions Spain on penalty kicks. For those of you who witnessed the game against Italy, you will remember it was nothing short of the crowds enthusiasm which helped South Korea win. The fans stood singing and chanting for what seemed to be the entire match, even when their team was down 1-0 and being outplayed, which would help fuel a come from behind victory, and led South Korea to become the first Asian team to reach the World Cup semi-finals. The converse side of this can be shown by recalling when Ashley Cole left Arsenal for Chelsea in 2006. The media and fans believed that Cole had illegal contact with Chelsea before leaving Arsenal, and in turn he was booed upon every touch of the ball when facing Arsenal at what was then their home stadium Highbury, making it very difficult for him to play to his best ability. 

Shown time and time again throughout sports, playing at home is often a great advantage which all the best teams grasp and utilize. Big names such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Barcelona, have been able to boast that they were unbeaten at home for seasons at a time, making it even harder for away teams to come in and snatch three points. As far as The Pittsburgh Riverhounds go, if we can remain undefeated at home, we can gain around 30 points and be on our way to a playoff birth. All of our players understand this and are determined to work towards that goal with the support of our families, Academy players and families, Riverhounds Partnership teams and families, local youth soccer teams and families, and the USL Division 2’s most feared and respected support group, The Steel Army.

Also, if you’d like to meet The Steel Army and hang before or after the game saturday they will be at the Greentree Radisson Hotel hosting Operation Ruffneck with a 5$ shuttle to the game.
 
 

5/8/09
Pittsburgh, PA

Departing for the game against our cross-state rivals today. Last season we were able to go undefeated in three games against Harrisburg, and we are hoping to remain undefeated against them this season. Every game is a big game, but this one is important not only because we are fighting for the bragging rights of PA, but also to stay undefeated and possibly go top of the league. Harrisburg is a team we are all familiar with, having a core group of returning players from years prior. It’s always a battle playing against them, but every game so far in this league looks to be a battle, and we feel we are ready and able to compete. Coming off of three good results in our first three games, and a solid week of training, the team is ready and confident to engage in this battle against "the other burg." The weather outlook is decent,  warm with a good chance of rain, and the field is natural grass, making good conditions for an evening game.