Kizza and Jacquesson continue fine form, Hounds have one foot in playoffs with win over Loudoun

Goals from Edward Kizza and Bertin Jacquesson ensured the Riverhounds would go into next week’s game with El Paso Locomotive with their playoff fate in their own hands, as they secured a precious 2-0 victory on the road over Loudoun United at Segra Field. 

With so much at stake for both sides, it was understandable that a few nerves would creep into the game, as was demonstrated inside the first few minutes as Hugo Fauroux almost allowed the ball to roll under his foot when under pressure from Jacquesson who was closing him down after a loose back pass. 

It was the home side though that would have the first clear-cut chance just past the ten-minute mark, Keegan Tingey allowed acres of space in the Hounds box from a well-worked set-piece, but he didn’t get the cleanest contact on the strike as it dribbled inches wide of Eric Dick’s post. 

The Hounds did get a major stroke of luck five minutes later, as Abdellatif Aboukoura was put clean through on goal and would have had a one-on-one against Dick to open the scoring, but he was pulled back for offside having strayed into the Hounds' half by just a yard. 

Indeed the Hounds spent most of the first half under the cosh from the home side, but in a bit of a reverse of what held the team back in the early part of the season, it was the team who didn’t take their chances who would fall behind first, as Kizza punished Loudoun with a flicked header from Robbie Mertz’ freekick, very much against the run of play:

What’s the saying? Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Well for the Hounds, there is arguably nobody you would rather have the ball fall to in that situation than the Ugandan, who with that goal extended his scoring streak to four games and took his season total to eleven. 

For Kizza though, this goal wasn't down to him, as he insisted that the credit go to Mertz for his assist "Credit to Robbie, he delivered a good ball and I just have to be in the right spot ... and the ball's going to find me."

The Hounds now had Loudoun exactly where they wanted them, needing to pull everything out break them down and save their season. Still, when you have the league’s best defense to rely on, and with Bob Lilley’s men having only lost one game this season when scoring first, it would have taken a fearless man to bet against them throwing the three points away.

Something that Lilley was more than happy to sing the praises of his team's backline after the game "Although we were pinned back a lot, we didn't give them a lot of clean looks. I thought we defended very well in our box. It was a gutsy performance. They're not an easy team to play against." 

As the first half drew to a close, it was once again down to Sean Suber to show exactly why the team’s defense has been so solid all season, as he was called upon to make a brave save by rushing out to stop Tommy McCabe’s ferocious shot from ten yards out, literally laying his body, and possibly even his hand in what may have been another stroke of luck, on the line to make sure that they went into the dressing room with the lead at the break. 

Speaking after the game, Suber seemed to hint that the mentality he showed in that moment was pretty much the attitude of the team for the whole night "We knew it was a cup final. It was win or go home to be honest within the playoff race... we threw everyone on the line."

"We want to make it hard on other teams, and as well as I thought Loudoun played tonight, we were equally as committed and stubborn, and we did everything that was required to give us a chance."

The second half began the way the majority of the game went, with Loudoun trying to break down the Hounds’ back line, Yanis Leerman and Kwame Awuah were restricted to rather speculative efforts from outside the box, both of which Dick gathered easily, whilst Kalil ElMedkhar should have done a lot better with his effort that was fired over the bar from just inside the box.

The home side showed their intent on how they wanted the game to play out as they went for broke by bringing off defender Keegan Hughes to be replaced by forward Wesley Leggett, but it took just three minutes for their gamble to fail as Jacquesson had one of the easiest finishes he’s likely to get in a Hounds shirt, tapping home Langston Blackstock's cross to double the lead and put them on the brink of the playoffs:

That effort makes it five goals now since his arrival from Real Salt Lake in September, and in a way it kind of stings to see those numbers because it just serves as a reminder of how good this team could have been if he’d been here all season long. 

Loudoun though would not be deterred by that setback and huffed and puffed to try and get something back, Zach Ryan came within the width of the crossbar of getting back in the game as he fired a freekick off the crossbar in the 65th minute whilst Aboukoura’s effort from outside the area curled harmlessly over as the Hounds cruised through the final stages and, with the only negative being Junior Etou failing to finish a counter-attack when he fired his effort right at Fauroux, claimed what might arguably be their biggest three points of the season.

This was not a ‘do-or-die’ game for the Riverhounds, they were always going to go into next week with a chance to make the postseason, and barring a near-impossible set of results in Virginia and around the USL Championship they would have done so with a decent chance of sneaking in.

And indeed an even more near-impossible set of results between now and next Saturday night would be needed for them to miss the postseason for the first time since 2017. But that doesn’t mean that tonight’s result should be dampened in any way. 

This team, as it has done ever since it became apparent they would need to be the most in-form team in the league to make the postseason, stepped up when it mattered. This is a team that, barring the ultimate disaster, will be going into the playoffs not scared of facing anyone, and will no doubt send fear into whoever they end up playing.