CHRIS COWGER / RIVERHOUNDS SC

Junior Etou, Jorge Garcia and Bradley Sample congratulate Bertin Jacquesson as he scores the winner for the Riverhounds against Westchester SC at Highmark Stadium

A first half goal from Bertin Jacquesson, his first of the season, saw the Riverhounds collect three points with a 1-0 win over Westchester in the USL Jagermeister Cup at Highmark Stadium, although results elsewhere meant their elimination from the tournament was confirmed.  

After their last Jagermeister Cup game, Bob Lilley said that qualification out of the group stage was going to be pretty difficult to manage, and that was reflected in his starting lineup, with fringe players like Max Broughton and Jorge Garcia given their chance to start.

And perhaps the sentiment from the head coach drifted into the players as they were slow starters in the early stages as Westchester had the first few chances, including a header from Juan Palma that had plenty of pace on it but just not the direction.

Perhaps that chance was the wake up call the Hounds needed to kick into gear as they sprinted up the other end of the field and took the lead, Robbie Mertz putting in an inch-perfect pass to Junior Etou out wide whose first time cross was tucked home by Jacquesson for his first goal of the season:

Much like Augi Williams’ goal last week, it really is fun to see what can happen when you keep things simple. Ball out wide, then give it to the man in the middle that’s waiting for it:

Right now, I’d advise you to take a step away from this report and read up on the infamous West Germany vs. Austria match and the Disgrace of Gijón in the World Cup of 1982, where the two teams spent the night passing the ball around because both sides were heading through to the next stage. 

That essentially summed up the remainder of the first half, except in this case both teams were eliminated, but you’ll get a sense of the pace that it played out in.

It was indeed at this point a few of us in the press box debated if it would even be worth the Riverhounds showing up to their final game against Portland Hearts of Pine, because it was clear they didn’t want to be here tonight, so why make the trip and risk any damage in another pointless encounter.

The second half played out mostly the same as the first, even the Riverhounds’ best chance came in a near repeat of the goal as Jacquesson was inches away from tucking home an Etou cross only to be foiled by Dane Jacomen, a graduate of Alderdice, from close range. Meanwhile the best the visitors could muster was a very tame effort from JC Obregon that was right down Jacob Randolph’s throat. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a stunning flying save from Jacomen who pulled off one of the best saves we’ve seen at Highmark this season to keep out a fierce shot from Charles Ahl by flying to his left to tip the effort round the post. I’m listing that as the highlight of the half, and that should tell you how the game went. 

Today was not a day to worry about the result, or indeed the performance. As I mentioned earlier, Lilley made it clear that qualification was not on his radar, so you can’t really read into this too much, the only way you could, would have been if they were completely turned over and embarrassed. 

They got through it all, and they got through it without sustaining any major injuries. The players who usually ride the bench came in and played well which will give them confidence moving forward if they're called upon again and that's about it.