3 Things: #PITvMIA
August 10, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
The Hounds return to Highmark Stadium riding high after a fourth consecutive victory, and they will look to extend that run of success Wednesday when they host Miami FC in a 6 p.m. match that will be streamed on ESPN+.
But Miami, currently six points adrift of the first-place Hounds, will be no easy foe, as they showed in the team's first meeting on June 12 that ended in a 1-1 draw.
While the results have been good of late, not everything in perfect in the Hounds' camp, and those are the things that need to be addressed in today's 3 Things.
1.) Next man up
While international duty pulled some players away from the Hounds last month, this week is the first time the Hounds have had more than three players listed as injured on the league's injury report.
Out once again will be Jordan Dover and Josh Gatt, while Tom Judge will not play after his head injury in the win Friday over Charleston. Defender Mekeil Williams (lower body) and forward Albert Dikwa (groin) are both listed as questionable, meaning the Hounds will have just 16 field players available if neither can suit up.
So far, the Hounds have been able to cover for injured players well, with midfielder Louis Pérez moving to a forward role when needed, Alex Dixon playing some wing back, and both Todd Wharton and Dani Rovira popping up all over the place in the midfield or back line, as needed. How those players, and possibly more, adapt to being asked to play out-of-position will go a long way to determining how successful the Hounds are until their teammates are able to heal.
2.) Communication is key
Last week's 3 Things touched on the defensive lapses that have plagued the back line dealing with direct balls played over the top. While that didn't quite happen against Charleston - it did take some good hustle by Preston Kilwien to recover and stop a near breakaway - the Battery's second goal showed a different symptom of the same root cause: a lack of communication.
On that second Charleston goal, which Romario Piggott tapped in to tie the match at 2-2, none of the Hounds players took control in the box. First, defender Logan Gdula was allowed to carry the ball far too close to the box with no one closing him down. That made it easy to ping a couple of passes together to send Nicque Daley through, and when he split a pair of defenders, it left goalkeeper Danny Vitiello of two minds and with little time to decide if he should charge off his line.
Vitiello spoke after Tuesday's training session about the need to communicate (see full comments from Vitiello and assistant coach Dan Visser above), but whether it's a big ball over the top or just closing down an attacker's space, someone in the back for the Hounds needs to speak up and take charge.
3.) Keep the dynamic duo rolling
Russell Cicerone and Alex Dixon have been the two biggest weapons for the Hounds this season, but one of the remarkable things about their scoring is that neither occupies a single spot on the field. In fact, what has made them so tough to defend is that they keep popping up in different places on the attack, making them harder for opponents to lock down and mark.
Both players have had stints leading the line, on the wing and in the midfield, and the result has been a combined 14 goals - eight for Cicerone and six for Dixon. Only two other USL teams, Phoenix (Santi Moar & Solomon Asante) and Los Angeles (Preston Judd & Jorge Hernández), have two players with six or more goals so far this season.
Especially with the injury situation, there's a nearly-zero chance either is out of the lineup against Miami, and if they are, they will certainly be an option off the bench. Who knows where they will turn up, but even if it's Dixon reprising his brief wing back role, he and Cicerone need to continue taking risks and being dangerous to the opposing defense.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 10, 2021
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- Match Preview: Legion FC vs Sporting Kansas City II - Wednesday, August 11 - Birmingham Legion FC
- 3 Things: #PITvMIA - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
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- Andre Lewis Named to USL Championship Team of the Week - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
- Atlanta United 2's Tyler Wolff voted Player of the Week after hat trick vs. Indy Eleven - USL
- Around the Leagues: Brazil and Canada Claim Olympic Gold - Sacramento Republic FC
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