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Riverhounds fail to protect lead
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7889.
Richmond defeated the Riverhounds, 2-1, before 2,198 fans in a non-conference matchup on a humid evening at Bethel Park Stadium.
Hayes’ game-winner came in the 62nd minute.
He took a pass from midfielder Tony Williams and sent a shot past Riverhounds goalkeeper Randy Dedini. Hayes’ first goal happened six minutes earlier, tying the score 1-1. Hayes got the rebound off an initial shot by Ihor Dotsenko. Dedini was unable to hold onto the ball, and Hayes kicked it back in for the goal.
The fact that the Riverhounds allowed Richmond (6-2-4, 30 pts) to get back in the game and take away the lead, seems to be an occurring scenario this season. This was the fourth time this year, the Riverhounds ( 3-9-4, 17 pts) have blown a lead. The Riverhounds remain in third place in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference because second place Toronto defeated Rochester, 1-0, last night.
“We seem to have lapses in games, but just for five or 10 minutes,” Riverhounds defender Michael Green said. “Problem is, in that time, we tend to give up a couple goals. This loss was more our fault than anything. Also, Richmond was just a little more alert on shots. If there was a rebound, they were there to get it and put it back in. We have to put this game past us though, because we have to play in Toronto on Sunday.”
On May 11, the Riverhounds took a 1-0 lead, but ended up falling to Richmond, 4-1. Riverhounds coach Kai Haaskivi said he can attribute that loss to his team being fatigued from playing too many games in too short a time. That Richmond game was the third one in seven days. Haaskivi couldn’t use that reasoning yesterday. His team had a week to prepare for Richmond.
“We flat out got beat,” he said. “It’s disappointing. We gave up two bad goals. You don’t feel as bad when you give up wonderful goals, but we worked hard to get our goal and then we fell asleep. When you do that against Richmond, they will punish you. If you fall asleep once, they will punish you. If you fall asleep twice, they will punish you twice.”
The Riverhounds were able to put a little hurt on Richmond from the play of midfielder Joey Worthen. He scored his first goal in the A-League. His shot came in the 23rd minute. Worthen took a pass from forward Jeff Houser and kicked the ball into the left-hand corner of the net.
“Of course, it was great to get my first goal in the league,” said Worthen, a second-round draft pick in this year’s A-League draft. “I got a beautiful pass from Jeff. But I would rather have had a win.”
Haaskivi said Worthen has been a bright spot all season. He consistently performs on offense and defense, even though this was his first goal. Worthen is the type of player who leaves everything on the field, Haaskivi added.
“I know I can count on him,” Haaskivi said. “He has been solid on the left side of our midfield. He is an impact player.”
There wasn’t much first-half action.
The Riverhounds had two shots on goal, compared to Richmond's three. The riverhounds had no corner kicks in the first half. Richmond have five, but could not capitalize. Play picked up some in the second half. The Riverhounds managed four shots on goal to seven for Richmond. The Riverhounds also only had two corner kicks in the whole game. Richmond had nine.
But it was the Riverhounds’ poor defense at times which caused the most damage.
“There are some times when we have breakdowns,” Worthen said. “Teams catch us on those and take advantage of it. But we can’t dwell on this. We have more games left this season that we have to concentrate on.”
