As the calendar flips to September, the Hounds are exactly where they want to be — in charge of their path to one or more home playoff games — but it will be no easy task over the final third of the season.
On paper, the team’s home match against the New York Red Bulls II at 6 p.m. this Wednesday seems like one of the easiest in the home stretch. After all, New York is one of the two teams remaining on the Hounds schedule with a losing record, and they have lost six straight.
But viewing things that way sets up the proverbial “trap game,” and in a division race where one slip-up could drop the team from a tie for first to outright third — and a road playoff opener — there’s no room for such an unforced error.
With that in mind, here are the 3 Things to watch in Wednesday’s final midweek match of the season:
1.) No place for complacency
Adding to the potential “trap game” worries is the fact the Hounds already are 3-0 against New York this season. This year will be the first time since 2010 the Hounds have played the same team four times in the same regular season, and the club has never swept a four-game season series with any opponent.
(The Hounds somehow managed to draw all four matchups with the Harrisburg City Islanders in that odd 2010 season, a year of league-shuffling turmoil caused by the start of the now-defunct second NASL, but we digress…)
Back to the task at hand, the Hounds are fully aware of the dangers posed by New York, which nearly got a result before the Hounds won 2-1 in the previous meeting in Pittsburgh on June 25.
The Hounds can’t afford a passive performance against a team that will keep up the pressure, so they need to amp up the pressure and play with the same persistence they showed Saturday after falling behind to Hartford in that 3-2 comeback win.
2.) Let the O flow
The Hounds have seven goals in their past two matches, their best 180-minute output at any point this season. New York, meanwhile, has allowed 44 goals this season, second-worst in the league ahead of only Pacific-trailing Las Vegas.
It’s important that the match doesn’t become an up-and-down track meet, which would suit the younger Red Bulls II side. But if the Hounds can form a defensive wall at midfield and pin the ball deep in the New York half, the hot form of Russell Cicerone and Alex Dixon and the visitors’ penchant for shipping goals seems like a combination that will set off plenty of smoke in the supporters’ section Wednesday.
3.) Puddle jumping
The biggest external factor for tomorrow’s match will be the weather, as the remnants of Hurricane — now Tropical Depression — Ida move south of Pittsburgh.
What little remains of the eye of the storm is predicted to pass through West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon, and Pittsburgh is expected to get steady rainfall from Tuesday afternoon through game time, though rain should be moving out of the area at some point overnight Wednesday.
The path of the storm obviously could change between now and kickoff, but the Hounds need to be prepared to battle New York in heavy rain. That means smart decisions and sure touches on the ball will be at a premium, as the slightest slip or mistake could be just what New York is suited to pounce on and spring an upset.
