(June 19, 2021) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC picked up its fourth consecutive road win Saturday night, as they knocked off the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies, 2-1, at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Danny Griffin and Russell Cicerone scored to give the Hounds a 2-0 lead, but the Rowdies made things tense at the end when Sebastián Guenzatti scored midway through five minutes of stoppage time.
The win by the Hounds (4-3-2) was the first time the Rowdies (6-2-0) failed to win at home this season and only their second loss in the past 19 home matches. It also was the Hounds’ first win over Tampa Bay since 2017 and first-ever win at Al Lang Stadium.
First half
The Hounds came out aggressively, a far cry from the teams’ meeting on May 8 when the Rowdies won, 3-0.
The first goal nearly came just six minutes into the match, as Alex Dixon found a wide-open Albert Dikwa in the middle of the box, but Dikwa struggled to get his footing and sprayed the shot wide.
Mekeil Williams then kept the game scoreless in the 13th minute with a sliding clearance off the goal line, as a shot from the 18-yard line by Tampa Bay’s Leo Fernandes had Hounds goalkeeper Danny Vitiello beaten.
The end-to-end action continued, and the Hounds took the lead in the 21st minute on the counter-attack.
Griffin received a clearing pass near midfield and distributed wide to Cicerone, who took the open space down the left side. Dikwa made a hard-charging run through the box to draw the defense, and Cicerone played a return pass across the face of goal to Griffin for the midfielder to finish his second goal of the season.
Second half
The Hounds had protecting the lead on their mind to start the second half, but Vitiello needed to come up with a massive diving save in the 49th minute to deny Fernandes a tying goal.
As Tampa Bay pushed forward, the Hounds were able to catch them on the break again to double the lead.
Kenardo Forbes, the USL’s all-time assists leader, notched his first helper of the season with a perfectly weighted ball forward to Cicerone, who split the two central defenders and poked the ball home in the 55th minute. It was the team-leading fifth goal of the season for Cicerone, which ties his career high for a season in just the ninth match of the year.
The Hounds were largely content to sit on the lead and look for more counter-attacking opportunities from there, as evidenced by Tampa Bay’s 78 percent possession in the second half. Despite that, the Rowdies only outshot the Hounds 11-10 for the game, and the Hounds had more shots on goal, 5-4.
The Rowdies finally got their goal late in the match, when substitute Dayonn Harris got behind the Hounds’ defense down the right wing. Harris crossed the ball to the center for a tap-in by Guenzatti, their leading scorer, but the Hounds held on for the win despite one more good Rowdies chance on a late, angled shot by Harris that rolled just wide.
Hounds Man of the Match
Russell Cicerone wasn’t always the most involved player, especially as the Hounds took a more defensive posture, but he again provided the necessary scoring spark for the Hounds. He finished with a goal and an assist, but he also completed 15 of 17 passes in the match, 10 of which came in the Rowdies half of the field.
What’s next?
The Hounds busy schedule continues with another short week, as they host the New York Red Bulls II at Highmark Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday, June 25. The Baby Bulls are 2-2-5 on the season, and the Hounds’ won the first meeting between the teams, 3-0, on May 28 in New Jersey.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Danny Vitiello; Dani Rovira (Anthony Velarde 78’), Shane Wiedt, Mekeil Williams (Preston Kilwien 62’), Jalen Robinson; Danny Griffin, Todd Wharton; Russell Cicerone (Jordan Dover 62’), Kenardo Forbes, Alex Dixon (Josh Gatt 86’); Albert Dikwa (Tommy Williamson 78’)
Tampa Bay Rowdies lineup (3-4-3) — Evan Louro; Jordan Scarlett, Forrest Lasso (Yann Ekra 45’), Aaron Guillén; Lewis Hilton, Conner Antley (Sebastian Dalgaard 54’), Laurence Wyke, Leo Fernandes (Max Lachoweki 71’); Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Matthew Srbely 84’), Zach Steinberger (Dayonn Harris 71’), Sebastián Guenzatti
Scoring summary
PIT — Danny Griffin 21’ (Russell Cicerone)
PIT — Russell Cicerone 55’ (Kenardo Forbes)
TBR — Sebastián Guenzatti 90+2’ (Dayonn Harris)
Discipline summary
PIT — Mekeil Williams 40’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
TBR — Lewis Hilton 41’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
TBR — Forrest Lasso 45+3’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
TBR — Yann Ekra 61’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
