Riverhounds drop 1-0 decision to FC Tulsa, face Oakland Saturday
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds dropped their second straight match at home, falling 1-0 to FC Tulsa Wednesday night, July 29, in a USL Championship rematch at F.N.B. Stadium.
Tulsa’s Logan Dorsey buried a top shelf, high rising shot past a diving Hounds goalkeeper Nico Campuzano to take the lead 13 minutes into the match. That was all Tulsa needed.
Dorsey intercepted a Riverhounds throw-in and ran unchallenged, 10 to 15 yards out after a missed Junior Etou tackle.
Riverhounds coach Rob Vincent said the throw-in was poorly played.
“I don't know if we just threw it to nobody, or if we just didn't challenge it, and then it's one straight up the middle field, where we should have guys there,” Vincent said. “We step out, he doesn't win the ball. Just poor all around. And again, I think it was a slow start resulting in a goal.”
The Riverhounds endured a second straight home game with a slow start as Tulsa landed three shots on net within the first 30 minutes.
The Riverhounds are now 7-8-2 and have lost four of their last six.
Tulsa kept possession for 53% of the first half. Once they went up, Vincent knew how reliable the Tulsa backline can be.
“We knew they're tough to break down,” Vincent said. “They don't give up a lot of goals.”
Nonetheless, the Riverhounds turned the tide and were energized in the second half, holding the ball for 65% of the final 45 minutes.
Yu Tsukanome subbed in to start the half and helped bring the energy with multiple runs.
Despite the Riverhounds dominating possession, they were unable to get on the same page on their passes and couldn’t get any clean chances in the box.
The Riverhounds landed just one shot on net.
“Some of it’s balance, and some of it’s tactical,” Vincent said, “and I’m not going to shy away from that but guys need to step up as well. We don’t step up in the right moments. There were crossers in the box as well that we’re not getting the end of. Sometimes the quality isn’t there…I’m super disappointed.”
A golden opportunity arose when a Danny Griffin shot attempt bounced over Tulsa goalkeeper Dane Jacomen, an Allderdice alum. Pittsburgh’s Charles Ahl came flying in, running behind the keeper. However, a sliding Ahl was unable to track down the ball and finish.
The Riverhounds’ second major opportunity came on a crosser to Tsukanome, who just missed a header wide right in extra time.
Vincent praised the play of Tsukanome, saying he was excellent in the second half.
“To come jnto the game and grab it by the string of the net like he did, he was playing a little deeper than I’d like him to, but he was just trying to make a difference,” Vincent said. “Again, if there’s more of that attitude on the field, maybe we would have knocked down a goal and an equalizer earlier, but props to him.”
Vincent said he wants to see his team turn things around as it heads to the Bay Area to face Oakland Roots SC at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.
“It was just super frustrating,” Vincent said of Wednesday’s loss to Tulsa. “I said over the weekend I’ve been relatively pleased with some of the performances, but we have more things to work on. [Wednesday night] was a tough performance. It’s another three points dropped. You start to feel the pressure and frustration. We will dust ourselves off. We’ll fly to Cali and try to make things right.”
Photos by Antonio Rosetti
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