Late heartbreak sees Riverhounds drop two crucial points in playoff pursuit

For the second week in a row, the Riverhounds managed to get a draw, but in the grand scheme of things it felt like a loss. Last week it was because they couldn’t beat a poor San Antonio side, this week it was because of late heartbreak.

Goals from Jackson Walti and Sean Suber were not enough to see the Riverhounds home as a first-half effort from Tyreek Magee and a goal deep into stoppage time from Delentz Pierre meant that they were forced to share the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Highmark Stadium. 

The evening got off to a somewhat inauspicious start as rain and lightning in the area forced kickoff to be delayed until 7:30 p.m, but the Riverhounds didn’t let it impact them in the early ten minutes as they created the first two good chances of the game, with Bradley Sample stinging the gloves of Christian Herrera and Duke LaCroix stopping a fixing Langston Blackstock cross.

But as has become a tradition for the Riverhounds, they were punished for not taking their chances, only this time it came a lot sooner than usual. Edward Kizza was guilty of giving the ball away in midfield, Matt Real picked up the loose ball, played a neat one-two with Juan Tejeda before getting a shot away that Eric Dick got a hand to, but he could only push it back into the area, Magee fought with Blackstock and Illal Osumanu for the rebound and got there first to poke home:

There’s no real need to overanalyze this, a hospital pass from Kizza started it off and just a bit of bad luck on the rebound wrapped it up. You can’t really blame Dick for that, especially given the conditions, and the rest of the team were just caught off guard by the bad pass, this was on Kizza and Kizza alone. 

The Riverhounds record this season when conceding first? 0-9-1. When trailing at half-time? 0-7-1. So the omens were not looking good for them as the half-time whistle approached, but they did try their best to get back into it with two chances in quick succession. 

First Kizza touched the ball back to Walti after a Sample cross but the effort was blocked, then Blackstock passed out wide to Robbie Mertz when he could have drilled a shot himself, only for Mertz to put the ball out for a goal kick as the same old problems reared their ugly heads again, even more so when Mertz once again got the ball from Blackstock but could only pull his shot wide. 

The Riverhounds have been crying out for a little bit of luck for a while, and that is exactly what they got less than ten minutes after the restart as they equalized with one of the luckiest, scrappiest, yet also impressive goals that you’ll see all year. A trick corner kick came out to Danny Griffin, but he could only scuff his shot into a crowd of bodies, that first rebound fell to Walti, his first effort was blocked, but he picked up his rebound again and fired past Herrera, who probably couldn’t see the ball through all the bodies as he was left rooted to the spot as the ball sailed past him:

As the game crept into the final stages, the Riverhounds once again seemed to have got the edge when it came to the run of play, with Dick’s only call to action being a clearance that saw him wipe out Ronaldo Damus in the process, whilst up the other end they came close with Blackstock striking the ball off the woodwork and Sample firing a volley just over the bar. 

That edge eventually came good through in a moment that could have ended up being season-defining and possibly season-saving as Suber rose highest to flick on Sample’s wide freekick to send Highmark Stadium into ecstasy:

That ecstasy didn’t last long though, as with less than ten seconds remaining, literally using the additional stoppage time that had been granted because of Suber’s goal, Delentz Pierre fired back with a header of his own that looped over Dick and into the far corner to leave the crowd quieter than a church during prayer time:

In the eyes of Bob Lilley speaking after the game, the annoyance doesn't come from giving up the goal itself, but the fact they shouldn't have been in a position to concede in the first place:

"It's a good goal on their part, but we shouldn't have been in that position at that point of the game ... at 1-1 they weren't really pushing the game." 

"I'm proud that the guys battled to get back in it, but I'm disappointed at the end result ... we make mistakes in bad areas at critical times and it can cost you. This year it's cost us more than we'd like."

And he seemed pretty confident that the team could still turn things around as the number of games gets smaller and smaller:

"It's not over yet. I still think you've got to get to 48 [points], so now it's can we win six out of the last nine and get a couple of ties? Can we hit that number? We're capable of winning six games ... we may have to win seven games if we drop another. We've been shooting for that number for the last month ... drawing the last three we've got three out of the last possible nine." 

It’s funny that above I put how Suber’s goal could have been season-saving (I initially was planning to dive into that a little bit more, but then the other goal kind of stole my thunder), because now looking back, it could well be season-defining, but going the other way, because this is the kind of result that can kill a team’s confidence.

The stat about them not winning when trailing, to have been able to turn that around, in the manner that they would have done if they’d have held on, could have been a springboard. Now you worry if this could just lead to a greater downward spiral.

In a way, the players might prefer to have a game midweek so they can get it out of their minds quicker. But with a whole week for this to linger as they head on the road to face a tough Birmingham Legion side, you hope it doesn’t start to get stuck in their head and become a lingering factor for the rest of the season.