Williams鈥� PK sends Hounds to win over Las Vegas
Chris Cowger | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Pittsburgh rebounded from a tumultuous week to blank Las Vegas, 1-0, on Sunday evening at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh’s Station Square.
The Riverhounds earned a 2-1 victory over Hartford on Sept. 20 at Hartford, but the three points were overshadowed by Pittsburgh captain Danny Griffin being accused by Athletic forward Marlon Hairston of using a racial slur in the 89th minute of the match.
The Athletic submitted an official report to the USL Championship. The league conducted a formal investigation that found the allegation unsubstantiated.
The Hounds were originally scheduled to play Las Vegas on Saturday, but the USL moved the match to Sunday after the Lights’ travel plans were unexpectedly distributed, which had the team arriving late on the day of the contest.
Pittsburgh didn’t let the Griffin situation or the scheduling conflict hinder its play, as Augi Williams converted a penalty kick in the 30th minute and the Hounds hung on for their third win in four matches.
Pittsburgh improved to 10-9-7 and now sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings of the USL Championship with 37 points.
“There was a lot of noise going on during the week, but the message for us all week was to keep our heads on training and focus on Las Vegas,” Pittsburgh assistant coach Rob Vincent said. “We gave a good accounting of ourselves tonight, got the three points, and we want to keep moving forward.”
The Hounds are one point behind Hartford for fifth place in the conference, and two behind Loudoun FC for the fourth spot, which would also include a home playoff match.
Las Vegas dropped to 6-13-7 in the Western Conference standings.
Williams’ opportunity came after Junior Etou was tripped in the penalty area by the Lights’ Younes Boudadi, who made a sliding challenge on the Pittsburgh wing back.
Referee Amin Hedzic pointed to the penalty spot, and Williams sent his attempt to the bottom right corner and past the diving attempt of Las Vegas keeper Raiko Arozarena for his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Williams is three for three on penalty attempts this campaign.
Etou was named the “Modelo Man of the Match” after taking up the left side during his 80 minutes of play. In addition to winning the penalty kick, Etou totaled four touches in the Lights box, six defensive clearances and won 9 of 12 duels.
“I just want to go out there and create more chances for my teammates,” Etou said. “I’m not too happy because I feel like we could have scored more goals tonight. We got up one, but if you score three or four goals, the game is over without any doubt. We can’t keep playing by scoring one goal and just holding on for the win.”
Riverhounds keeper Jacob Randolph made four saves for his third clean sheet in six matches across all competitions this season. He earned his first shutout in USL Championship action.
“It was a big challenge for him,” Vincent said. “He came in a little bit cold tonight after not playing for a couple of months, but I’m glad that he was able to get his clean sheet.”
Randolph’s first stop came in the 37th minute, as he caught a curling effort by Las Vegas leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez. He cleanly caught Gennaro Nigro’s free kick in the 68th minute, and came up with his best save in the 81st, when he got low to deny Giorgio Probo’s shot that went through traffic.
“They had a couple of chances later on, but I think for the most part, we limited their chances,” Vincent said. “It may not have felt like it at the time, or look like it because the game was 1-0, but we were pretty comfortable out there.”
Arozarena stopped five shots, including a save in stoppage time that kept the match at 1-0, when he denied Brigham Larsen.
The Lights’ last opportunity came on a goal kick by Arozarena that was flicked forward, but Rodriguez couldn’t find the target as he attempted to chip Randolph with the ball bouncing in front of him.
Pittsburgh’s Bradley Sample struck the crossbar early in the second half after receiving a pass from Luke Biasi. The Hounds had a 19-6 advantage in shots (6-4 edge in shots on target).
Las Vegas had an early chance in the first half when Patrick Leal’s opportunity in the Pittsburgh box was cleared by Guillaume Vacter.
The Hounds’ opportunity in the first part of the match came when Etou combined with Robbie Mertz to the end line, but Arozarena pounced on the low cross.
Pittsburgh travels to Miami FC this Saturday for a 7 p.m. match. Miami (5-15-6) has lost three times in four matches by 1-0 scores, but it played the Hounds to a 1-1 draw on July 29 at Highmark Stadium.