In its first-ever match this Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (12-3-10) battled back from a one-goal deficit only to relinquish the lead in second-half stoppage time, as it tied Indy Eleven (11-7-8), 2-2. Here’s how the Hounds grabbed a point on the road behind goals from Joe Greenspan and Christiano François.
45’+2 Joe Greenspan assisted by Christiano François
Drawing a foul just outside of the 18-yard box, midfielder Noah Franke provided the Hounds with a key scoring chance right before halftime.
Depicted above, François (yellow arrow) lines up to take the set piece. In the midst of congestion inside the penalty area, Greenspan (orange arrow) uses his 6-foot-6-inch frame to fight for position near the goalmouth. As François’ cross travels into the penalty box, the center back sprints toward the six-yard box, locates the ball and heads it into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to knot the score at 1-1 heading into the half.
59’ Christiano François
Hustle and pressure led to the Hounds’ second tally of the match.
As Nico Matern (red arrow) fends off a rapidly closing Neco Brett (green arrow), he is forced to play the ball backward to goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams. François (yellow arrow) anticipates this upcoming pass to perfection.
Before the ball can reach its intended recipient, François swoops in and intercepts it in the Pittsburgh attacking third. Dashing to the outside and around the goalkeeper, the attacking midfielder then wins the race to the Indy goalmouth and provides the Hounds with a 2-1 lead.
The Other Side
The Eleven took advantage of a misjudged ball for an early tally.
In the 4th minute, the squad flipped the field on a break. Following a pass played forward from Matthew Watson to Jack McInerney, Hounds goalkeeper Mike Kirk charged the ball near the top of the 18-yard box. However, the Indy striker maneuvered around the clearance attempt and converted with an empty net in front of him.
For their second goal of the match, the Eleven took advantage of a red card, which forced Pittsburgh to play with 10 men from the 86th minute onward. McInerney was again in the middle of the action, this time fielding a pass from Ben Speas. The forward slipped a step behind the Black and Gold backline and found a charging Kirk just ahead of him for a second time. The Hounds goalkeeper cut down his angle, but ultimately McInerney booted a ball just by Kirk to earn a brace and tie the score at 2-2 in second-half stoppage time.
Tale of the Tape
Each team mirrored each other in the shots department, as both Pittsburgh and Indy recorded three shots in the first half and seven shots in the second stanza. The Eleven held the advantage in shots on target, 7-5, although the Hounds produced more shots inside the penalty box, 9-7.
Keeping with the theme of similarities, both squads cashed in on a vacated net by a charging goalkeeper and were the beneficiaries of fouls – the Hounds converted on a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and the Eleven posted their equalizer after a Pittsburgh red card. This evenness of play ultimately led to the 2-2 result.
