Goals have been coming for the Riverhounds in recent weeks, perhaps not yet at the rate we saw last season, but still at a clip just shy of two per game dating back to the May 28 win at New York Red Bulls II that began the team’s current road winning streak.
But in their most recent match, a 2-1 home win Friday over that same New York side, the Hounds produced a pair of goals of the variety the coaches — as well as fans — want to see more of, as the team showed off its passing and patience to put two behind the Baby Bulls.
The opening goal in the match, a strike taken by Todd Wharton with both power and accuracy, earned a USL Championship Goal of the Week nomination for both the quality of finish and the club-record-setting assist provided by Kenardo Forbes.
But let’s not forget, that goal was inches away from being an Albert Dikwa finish only a few seconds earlier, and the build-up to that moment was equally impressive.
The move truly began with the ball on the foot of Wharton, of all people, who was positioned in a right wing-back role to begin the match. He, Alex Dixon and Danny Griffin moved the ball amongst themselves before Dixon tried to make his move into the attacking half of the field.
It wasn’t until this point that the replay shown on the broadcast kicks in, about 35 seconds into the clip below. Dixon was dispossessed, only for the ball to go the feet of Russell Cicerone. Undeterred, Dixon made the correct decision to continue his run down the right flank, and Cicerone hit his attack partner in stride with a pass.
Dixon’s early cross was another pinpoint pass to the feet of Dikwa, who smartly took the shot on his first touch, only to strike the left post.
From there, the reward came from attacking as a team, as Forbes stayed with the play and took a position to control the rebound in the left side of the penalty area. Wharton — now six passes removed from his last involvement in the attack — moved into the open space atop the box created by the Hounds’ other attacking runners, and his finish was pure.
All totaled, the Hounds might not have a more complete team goal than Wharton’s so far in 2021, but Dikwa’s goal later in the first half certainly rivals it.
In this instance, Griffin got the attack started with a good defensive read in the midfield, intercepting a pass forward from the New York back line. Griffin passed to Forbes in a central position and mimicked the run Dixon earlier made so successfully down the right flank, where the return pass from Forbes was on the money. (And where the highlight in the clip below picks up.)
Griffin played through a crunching-but-fair slide tackle by New York’s Juan Castillo, bouncing back to his feet first to send a cross toward Dikwa in the center. That cross was a little too high, but the Hounds throwing numbers forward and staying with the play allowed them to make something of it.
Dani Rovira — the left wing-back — got all the way to the end line to track down the cross, dropping a pass back to Forbes. From there, it was a clever near-post chip by Forbes to find Cicerone’s head, and with little angle to shoot, Cicerone wisely headed the ball centrally, where Dikwa made no mistake with the finish.
On both goals, multiple Hounds players kept the play moving by continuing runs and not being afraid to move forward into the vacant space in front of them, whether they are a forward, midfielder or defender. While other opponents might not leave as many gaps as a young New York side, that means it’s even more critical for the Hounds to pounce on those spaces when they are presented.
Much gets written about how Bob Lilley’s teams defend in numbers and cover behind one another. But, as was the case Friday, the Hounds’ goal scoring also is at its best when players are attacking with the same overwhelming numbers and level of support for each other.
