North Carolina FC knocks off Riverhounds SC with late goal

Riverhounds SC defeated again by a late goal.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC were looking to rebound from their loss via a late goal against Charleston last week, as they faced North Carolina FC, who were looking to continue their winning ways, after besting Toronto II, 3-1.  Unfortunately, the Riverhounds picked up their third loss of the season on another late goal, causing them to drop one spot, to 4th, in the standings.

The game could be told as the tale of two halves, with North Carolina dominating the first half, and the Riverhounds finally getting into the game in the second half. Here is a breakdown of what happened:

First half

The Riverhounds started off with a normal formation, a 4-4-2 look where the back line easily switched to a 3 if attacking, and 5 when defending, but that is where the normalcy stopped.  The action picked up in the 7th minute when Riverhounds’ Jordan Dover crossed the ball into the box, only to be smothered by North Carolina’s goalkeeper Alexandros Tambakis. North Carolina had a great chance at a goal in the 17th minute after Pittsburgh’s Tommy Vancaeyezeele took a late challenge and fouled Miller just outside of the box.  Kyle Bekker delivered a nice shot from the corner, but Dan Lynd was able to deflect the shot. A couple minutes later, Daniel Rios came down the far side with a great look for a shot but was met by Lynd at the corner of the box.  In the 24th minute, after a Riverhounds turnover, Kyle Bekker played a deep ball to Daniel Rios, who got around Pittsburgh’s Tobi Adewole and scored the opening goal, making it 1-0 North Carolina FC.

Throughout the first half, you could hear Riverhounds Head Coach Bob Lilley shouting instructions and his displeasure, mainly at Romeo Parkes. His displeasure with Parkes’ performance came to a boil after Parkes had a wide open shot in the 29th minute and missed it completely wide (Kay Banjo subbed in for Parkes in the 30th minute). After the substitution, the Riverhounds seemed to have a more attacking mindset, leading to multiple corners in the final five minutes of the first half, but no legitimate scoring opportunities.

Second Half

After a very lackluster start to the first half, the Riverhounds came out ready to play and pushed North Carolina on their heels.  The first few minutes of the second half saw multiple opportunities for the Riverhounds but to no avail. In the 55th minute North Carolina’s da Luz sent an almost perfect cross to Bekker at the far post, fortunately for the Riverhounds, the ball went out for a goal kick.

After that close call, the Riverhounds went on a tear. Kenardo Forbes had a great look, but the shot sailed high. This was followed by Christiano Francois scoring in the 57th minute on a great shot that zipped into the upper left corner of the goal, tying the game 1-1. The Riverhounds kept up the attack with another Kenardo Forbes attempt in the 72nd minute that made Tambakis stretch out to prevent a goal. On the ensuing corner, Francios connected with Greenspan, but the header bounced off the ground and over the bar.

North Carolina came back to life after that, with a breakaway by Donovan Ewolo that was deflected by Lynd. At that point, the game broke open, seeing Kay Banjo take a shot from 22 yards out, just missing high, and Daniel Rios hitting a low shot that would of put North Carolina ahead if Lynd wouldn’t have laid out for the deflection. In the 90th minute, North Carolina was awarded a free kick. As the free kick came in, Lynd rose to meet the ball and punched it away, only for it to land at Wuilito Fernandes’ feet who put the shot past Lynd and gave North Carolina the 2-1 lead.  The Riverhounds had enough time for one last attempt, but a bad touch saw the ball go out of bounds, sealing North Carolina’s victory.

Next Time Out:

The Riverhounds look to end their two-game losing skid on Wednesday, August 1, when they take on the Richmond Kickers at Highmark Stadium.

North Carolina looks to continue their winning streak alive next Saturday, August 4, when they host the Charleston Battery.