Max Touloute scores for the Riverhounds early in the second half Saturday. — PAUL WINTRUBA/RIVERHOUNDS
Sights, sounds and the scene at Highmark Stadium …
• For all the heat that officials in all sports take – deserved and otherwise – it’s rare to see a game that truly turns on a missed call. However, the hardy folks in attendance for the Riverhounds’ 2-1 loss to Rochester tonight at a chilly Highmark Stadium may have witnessed just such an anomaly.
Just three minutes after Riverhounds substitute Max Touloute tied the score at 1-1 early in the second half on a brilliant feed from Danny Earls, referee Vito Testa’s refusal to whistle what appeared to be a brutal foul committed against the Riverhounds’ Robbie Vincent gave Rochester the opening to score the deciding goal.
With Vincent and the Rhinos’ Mike Garzi battling for a loose ball near the sideline, Garzi delivered a strong forearm to Vincent’s chest, knocking the latter to the turf. Testa charged over to the incident, giving the appearance that he would blow the play dead, but he did not. Rochester wing back Onua Obasi seized the opportunity to collect the ball and cross it to an uncovered Hugh Dixon for a flicked finish past Riverhounds keeper Ryan Thompson in the the 51st minute.
The play can be seen at the 1:05:00 mark of the official highlights …
“That should not happen in a professional game,” Touloute said afterward. “I may take some heat for this, but I thought the officiating was very poor tonight.”
“There’s a lot of things I can’t say,” coach Mark Steffens said. “It should have been a foul. Our defenders stopped when the referee ran over there. That’s the crazy game of soccer.”
• The Riverhounds looked little like the free-flowing team that filled the net with five goals in last week’s eye-opening victory over Harrisburg. Although the second half was even, perhaps favoring the home team slightly, the first half was a case study in how not to attack a well-schooled defensive team that features a towering group of defenders. Leading that group was 6-foot-4 left back Obasi, who helped shut down the Hounds’ ill-conceived reliance on lengthy aerial feeds.
“They’re huge,” Steffens said of the Rhinos. “We wanted to keep the ball on the ground, but we played their game in the first half. Very disappointed with our lack of composure in the first half. We couldn’t connect on any passes and we tried a few long balls, so we played right into their hands.”
In a bit of turnabout from last Saturday, when the Riverhounds’ pressure forced Harrisburg into rushed and sloppy play, they fell victim to that approach from Rochester.
“We were rattled by their pressure,” defender Mike Green said. “Rochester is more organized than Harrisburg, so we weren’t able to get into the rhythm we had last week.”
• So, what was better in the second half?
Tactics, for one. After starting the game in a 4-3-3 formation, with last week’s scoring stars Vincent and Kevin Kerr joining Robert Morris product Miro Cabrilo up front, Steffens switched to a 4-4-2, hoping to entice Rochester to spread out defensively.
“We changed formation and we were able to get behind them a little bit,” Steffens said. “I think just opening up the width a bit made us more possessive.”
The Hounds also stopped banging their heads against the wall in terms of playing through the air, which brought great relief to the coaching staff.
Personnel-wise, Touloute and Brazilian striker Vini Dantas entered after intermission, with Kerr and Vincent dropping back. Touloute scored the equalizer when Dantas fed Earls for a chipped pass that sprung the fleet Touloute for his first USL goal in his second game.
“They’re a very organized team in the middle, so I tried to use the width of the field and make them move laterally,” Touloute said. “Last week I played 10 minutes, but it was more running around more than anything. I got the jitters out.”
Both the Haitian-born Touloute and Dantas are trying to adjust their conditioning after playing indoor soccer over the winter. The indoor game is more like hockey, with smaller field dimensions and short high-intensity shifts instead of the constant pace needed for outdoor play.
• Injuries to defenders Matt Dallman and Drew Russell have forced Green to the back line, where he has started on the right side in the first two games.
“I’ve played in the back with this team numerous times, so it’s not really a different thing,” Green said. “It’s just about trying to get back into the groove, because in the second half last year, I was playing more up top.”
Despite the shuffled deck, the defenders have been mostly strong in the opening two matches. The consistent presence of 2014 standout Anthony Arena has helped, as he patrols the middle with Fejiro Okiomah.
“Arena is a great communicator,” Steffens said. “That helps a lot when bringing in new players.”
Arena signed with the Riverhounds in the offseason after the MLS’ Houston Dynamo didn’t renew his deal, which had him shutting back and forth between here and Texas early last summer. The new regime, led by Steffens, doesn’t appear to have disrupted his game.
“A lot of guys were new this preseason,” Arena said. “We have a couple moving pieces but it’s settling down so far. It’s not really different.”
• Don’t underestimate the effect of cold weather on players who’ve never experienced it.
Lebo Moloto, a 22-year-old South African midfielder, said last week’s temperatures in the high 20s represented a whole new world for him. No wonder the crafty playmaker was much less involved than he had been during an intriguing preseason.
On the other hand, Thompson, a 30-year-old Jamaican, admitted to some cold-related stiffness last week but said he drew on his 2011 experience playing in sub-zero Kazan, Russia, in a Europa Cup match for Irish club Shamrock Rovers.
Still, the atmosphere by the Monongahela was quite the shock after wintering in the Caribbean.
“I didn’t realize how cold I was until I got in the locker room and my whole body started shaking,” Thompson said. “It did affect me just a little, but most of the time it’s mind over matter. I’ve played in conditions that were worse.”
Matt Gajtka is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.
It took some of us a while to master the pronunciation of DK's name. I think I've got your first name down, but your family name ...? I'm guessing the j is silent.
Great coverage Matt! Not only was that a foul by Garzi on Vincent, but he never attempted to play the ball and therefore should have seen yellow there. The referee making the beeline straight towards the two usually indicates a card or a stern warning at the very least, no wonder the Riverhounds were caught flat footed.
April 5, 2015
Coverage: Dubious decisive strike
by Matt Gajtka • Coverage • Riverhounds
Max Touloute scores for the Riverhounds early in the second half Saturday. — PAUL WINTRUBA/RIVERHOUNDS
Sights, sounds and the scene at Highmark Stadium …
• For all the heat that officials in all sports take – deserved and otherwise – it’s rare to see a game that truly turns on a missed call. However, the hardy folks in attendance for the Riverhounds’ 2-1 loss to Rochester tonight at a chilly Highmark Stadium may have witnessed just such an anomaly.
Just three minutes after Riverhounds substitute Max Touloute tied the score at 1-1 early in the second half on a brilliant feed from Danny Earls, referee Vito Testa’s refusal to whistle what appeared to be a brutal foul committed against the Riverhounds’ Robbie Vincent gave Rochester the opening to score the deciding goal.
With Vincent and the Rhinos’ Mike Garzi battling for a loose ball near the sideline, Garzi delivered a strong forearm to Vincent’s chest, knocking the latter to the turf. Testa charged over to the incident, giving the appearance that he would blow the play dead, but he did not. Rochester wing back Onua Obasi seized the opportunity to collect the ball and cross it to an uncovered Hugh Dixon for a flicked finish past Riverhounds keeper Ryan Thompson in the the 51st minute.
The play can be seen at the 1:05:00 mark of the official highlights …
“That should not happen in a professional game,” Touloute said afterward. “I may take some heat for this, but I thought the officiating was very poor tonight.”
“There’s a lot of things I can’t say,” coach Mark Steffens said. “It should have been a foul. Our defenders stopped when the referee ran over there. That’s the crazy game of soccer.”
• The Riverhounds looked little like the free-flowing team that filled the net with five goals in last week’s eye-opening victory over Harrisburg. Although the second half was even, perhaps favoring the home team slightly, the first half was a case study in how not to attack a well-schooled defensive team that features a towering group of defenders. Leading that group was 6-foot-4 left back Obasi, who helped shut down the Hounds’ ill-conceived reliance on lengthy aerial feeds.
“They’re huge,” Steffens said of the Rhinos. “We wanted to keep the ball on the ground, but we played their game in the first half. Very disappointed with our lack of composure in the first half. We couldn’t connect on any passes and we tried a few long balls, so we played right into their hands.”
In a bit of turnabout from last Saturday, when the Riverhounds’ pressure forced Harrisburg into rushed and sloppy play, they fell victim to that approach from Rochester.
“We were rattled by their pressure,” defender Mike Green said. “Rochester is more organized than Harrisburg, so we weren’t able to get into the rhythm we had last week.”
• So, what was better in the second half?
Tactics, for one. After starting the game in a 4-3-3 formation, with last week’s scoring stars Vincent and Kevin Kerr joining Robert Morris product Miro Cabrilo up front, Steffens switched to a 4-4-2, hoping to entice Rochester to spread out defensively.
“We changed formation and we were able to get behind them a little bit,” Steffens said. “I think just opening up the width a bit made us more possessive.”
The Hounds also stopped banging their heads against the wall in terms of playing through the air, which brought great relief to the coaching staff.
Personnel-wise, Touloute and Brazilian striker Vini Dantas entered after intermission, with Kerr and Vincent dropping back. Touloute scored the equalizer when Dantas fed Earls for a chipped pass that sprung the fleet Touloute for his first USL goal in his second game.
“They’re a very organized team in the middle, so I tried to use the width of the field and make them move laterally,” Touloute said. “Last week I played 10 minutes, but it was more running around more than anything. I got the jitters out.”
Both the Haitian-born Touloute and Dantas are trying to adjust their conditioning after playing indoor soccer over the winter. The indoor game is more like hockey, with smaller field dimensions and short high-intensity shifts instead of the constant pace needed for outdoor play.
• Injuries to defenders Matt Dallman and Drew Russell have forced Green to the back line, where he has started on the right side in the first two games.
“I’ve played in the back with this team numerous times, so it’s not really a different thing,” Green said. “It’s just about trying to get back into the groove, because in the second half last year, I was playing more up top.”
Despite the shuffled deck, the defenders have been mostly strong in the opening two matches. The consistent presence of 2014 standout Anthony Arena has helped, as he patrols the middle with Fejiro Okiomah.
“Arena is a great communicator,” Steffens said. “That helps a lot when bringing in new players.”
Arena signed with the Riverhounds in the offseason after the MLS’ Houston Dynamo didn’t renew his deal, which had him shutting back and forth between here and Texas early last summer. The new regime, led by Steffens, doesn’t appear to have disrupted his game.
“A lot of guys were new this preseason,” Arena said. “We have a couple moving pieces but it’s settling down so far. It’s not really different.”
• Don’t underestimate the effect of cold weather on players who’ve never experienced it.
Lebo Moloto, a 22-year-old South African midfielder, said last week’s temperatures in the high 20s represented a whole new world for him. No wonder the crafty playmaker was much less involved than he had been during an intriguing preseason.
On the other hand, Thompson, a 30-year-old Jamaican, admitted to some cold-related stiffness last week but said he drew on his 2011 experience playing in sub-zero Kazan, Russia, in a Europa Cup match for Irish club Shamrock Rovers.
Still, the atmosphere by the Monongahela was quite the shock after wintering in the Caribbean.
“I didn’t realize how cold I was until I got in the locker room and my whole body started shaking,” Thompson said. “It did affect me just a little, but most of the time it’s mind over matter. I’ve played in conditions that were worse.”
Matt Gajtka is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.