After dropping the season-opener in Pittsburgh back on March 19, Hartford looked to exact revenge on their rival in far warmer weather than their last meeting. Despite holding a second half lead, Athletic met the same fate as their previous matchup with the Riverhounds, falling 2-1 in the final seconds.
In an atypical Connecticut climate, Hartford kicked off with their second-most faced opponent in club history in 90 degree weather. Athletic came out on the front foot, holding 70% possession and entering the final third three times throughout the first ten minutes. Despite the Green and Blue early dominance in possession, the Riverhounds took the first shot of the night when Arturo Osuna sent one on net that landed in Yannik Oettl’s hands. Pittsburgh’s keeper soon got some action of his own when Andre Lewis drew a foul in the 15th minute, earning a free kick from halfway between midfield and the box. After the set piece was denied, Joel Johnson broke free down the sideline and tried to send a cross into the box that was deflected on net, but turned into a simple save for Jahmali Waite.
15 minutes later the Riverhounds threatened to break the seal on scoring, when Alex Dixon found a sliding Danny Griffin in the center of the 18 whose touch missed wide. Griffin was involved once again in the 39th minute, when he led Albert Dikwa through a seam in Hartford’s backline. He looked to be all alone, but Logan Gdula was able to recover and knock the ball out of harm’s way. Hartford carried this momentum to the other end of the field. During a three-minute stoppage time period, Andre Lewis was brought down and earned another free kick from beyond Pittsburgh’s box. Danny Barrera sailed the set piece to the end-line where Modou Jadama’s header was unable to find its way on goal.Â
After a back and forth first half, the team’s went into the locker rooms with the same score as kickoff. Despite possessing the ball for over 60% of the first 45 and leading Pittsburgh in final third entries, Hartford was not able to get much going once in the final third. The RIverhounds took the game’s only eight shots and more touches in the box than the Green and Blue.
Possession was a bit more even to start the latter half, but Pittsburgh once again got the first shot when Russell Cicerone found his way to the ball in the box and on Athletic’s endline in the 54th minute. He fired a hard shot from in close, but Oettl was able to send it sky high and caught it after a long descent. Hartford clearly did not want the same story as the first 45, as just a minute later they took their first shot of the game and made it count. Rashawn Dally dished a pass to McGlynn above the box who launched his shot past the Riverhounds keeper and into the top left corner of the net to give his squad the 1-0 lead. The Riverhounds tried to quickly answer back when Robbie Mertz lucked into a shot from the middle of the box, but Oettl was able to prevent the equalizer and keep Athletic in ahead.
Pittsburgh was due for a goal and their prayers were answered in the 74th minute. At this time they had double-digit second half touches in the box compared to Hartford’s zero. Mertz floated a beautiful ball into the box for Cicerone. The halftime sub elevated and was able to head it home and even up the game at one apiece, good for Pittsburgh’s league-leading eighth goal via substitutes this season. The Riverhounds nearly took their first lead of the match minutes after tallying their first goal, a corner kick set piece ended with a close shot that was blocked by Oettl and cleared into safety by Lewis. The flurry of scoring chances for Pittsburgh foreshadowed how the game would end. Seconds away from a draw in stoppage time, Kenardo Forbes led Wiedt into the box who dealt the heartbreaker, rocketing a beautiful shot past a sprawling Oettl and into the top right corner of Hartford’s net. Athletic would have one more rush down the field but nothing would come of it and the final whistle confirmed a difficult 2-1 loss.
Hartford has a quick turnaround as they will meet Rio Grande Valley FC for a midweek matchup on the road Wednesday, July 27, at 8:30 PM.
FAST STATS
Shots (On-Target): Hartford 1 (1) – Pittsburgh 21 (6)
Corners: Hartford 2 – Pittsburgh 5
Fouls: Hartford 12 – Pittsburgh 16
Offsides: Hartford 2 – Pittsburgh 4
Possession: Hartford 58.2% – Pittsburgh 41.8%
Passing Accuracy: Hartford 82.6% – Pittsburgh 79.2%
Saves: Hartford 4 – Pittsburgh 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
55’ – McGlynn (Dally)
74’ – Cicerone (Mertz)
90 + 4’ – Wiedt (Forbes)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
24’ – Prpa (Yellow)
66’ – Williams (Yellow)
69′ – Boudadi (Yellow)
73’ – Brewitt (Yellow)
90 + 4’ – Wiedt (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP:
13 (GK) Yannik Oettl; 2 (DF) Younes Boudadi, 3 (DF) Logan Gdula, 5 (DF) Tom Brewitt, 23 (DF) Modou Jadama, 30 (DF) Joel Johnson (P. Vassell, 67’); 10 (MF) Danny Barrera (P. Saydee, 85’) 11 (MF) Luka Prpa (A. MartĂnez, 82’); 77 (MF) Andre Lewis, 28 (MF) Conor McGlynn, 18 (FW) Rashawn Dally (J. ObregĂłn, 66’)
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC STARTING LINEUP:
26 (GK) Jahmali Waite, 2 (DF) Nate Dossantos (D. Rovira, 69’); 3 (DF) Shane Wiedt, 5 (DF) Mekeil Williams, 15 (DF) Arturo Ordóñez, 7 (MF) Alex Dixon (J. Peters, 84’); 11 (MF) Kenardo Forbes, 12 (MF) Danny Griffin, 13 (MF) Luke Biasi (R. Cicerone, 46’); 18 (MF) Marc Ybarra (R. Mertz, 46’); 9 (FW) Albert Dikwa (E. Kizza, 69’)