At the buzzer
Ahl鈥檚 header on final play earns draw for the Hounds
Mallory Neil/Riverhounds SC
There is no buzzer or horn that signifies the end of a professional soccer match, but Charles Ahl came as close as you can to a shot “at the buzzer” when he headed in his first professional goal on the final play of Tuesday’s match that helped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds draw Miami, 1-1, at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh’s Station Square.
The Hounds (6-6-5) are on a seven-game unbeaten streak and sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings in the USL Championship League with 23 points. Miami (5-8-4) is in the eighth, and final, playoff spot in the conference with 19 points.
“I loved the response to tie the game after we trailed,” Pittsburgh coach Bob Lilley said. “It’s better to get something out of this game than nothing. It’s disappointing that we didn’t have enough fire from the start. We were lucky they let us off the hook at the end. We dropped points.”
Tuesday’s match remained scoreless until Francisco Bonfiglio finished in front of the goal after making a run in the center of the pitch, where he received Allen Gavilanes’ low pass from the left side to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the 83rd minute.
“When they scored, it wasn’t a surprise,” Lilley said. “They created enough chances.”
Pittsburgh was running out of time as the match reached the 95th minute when Junior Etou sent a cross toward the near post that Ahl met on the run and sneaked his header between the post and Miami keeper Felipe Rodriquez.
“It was the last kick of the game, so I had to get a head or something on it,” Ahl said. “I was fortunate Junior put the ball in there, and I did my best to get something on it. It wasn’t the way I drew it up, but I am glad it went in. A game winner would probably be the best time for me to score, but a game-tying goal is pretty good, too.”
The Hounds believed they had a chance for a penalty kick to level the score when Etou was knocked down in the box, but the tackle was deemed a legal tactic by the referee.
Bonfiglio had an opportunity in the 19th minute when his one-touch strike skimmed off the top of the crossbar.
Pittsburgh’s first chance came minutes later when Danny Griffin received a ball from Luke Biasi, but Griffin’s attempt was deflected high by a Miami boot before a clear shot on target could be taken. Griffin had a curling shot touch off a defender and roll wide of the goal after receiving a pass from Bradley Sample.
Sample had an opportunity of his own in the first half after receiving a cross from Perrin Barnes down the right side. Sample’s header struck the far bar squarely but into the arms of Rodriguez to keep the match scoreless.
Miami had a pair of chances early in the second half, but a diving save by Eric Dick and a shot that struck the crossbar kept the match level.
Dick had a season-high five saves, as the Hounds were outshot, 15-10. He had two diving stops, and scooped up the ball 12 times from Miami passes and crosses. Dick was named the “Modelo Man of the Match.”
“Eric Dick had to make some big saves,” Lilley said. “I think we have better to offer, and we are not there yet.”
Sample had an opportunity in the 63rd minute after retrieving a pass from Robbie Mertz. The first attempt from 10 yards was blocked, but the ball bounced back to Sample, whose second attempt was pushed just to the left of the cage.
Pittsburgh returns to Highmark Stadium on Saturday against Rhode Island FC (4-8-5) at 7 p.m. The squads have split both meetings this year.
“Rhode Island has just as big, physical and athletic of a roster as Miami, and they are rested,” Lilley said. “We have to galvanize and gather ourselves to play better. We were outworked tonight, and I think that was from the beginning of the match. It wasn’t because of the heat.”