USL PRO Game Report
Friday, May 9, 2014
PITTSBURGH -- Orlando City SC extented its winning streak to six games as it took a 1-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in a tightly-contested match on Friday night at Highmark Stadium.
The match will likely be remembered most for a controversial call in the 75th minute. Trailing 1-0, the Riverhounds had a great opportunity after some quality combination play down the left side, a ball was sent to the middle of the box for midfielder Matt Dallman. As Dallman went for the ball, he was tackled by Orlando's Yordany Alvarez, who appeared to not make contact with the ball.
Referee Kevin Terry Jr. blew the whistle and appeared to signal for a foul and a penalty kick, and showed a yellow card to Alvarez. As the Orlando City players disputed the call, Terry Jr. checked with his lineman for his point of view. After a lengthy discussion, the call was overturned, and a drop ball was ensued about 12 yards from the goal.
"I've never seen a call (like that) in my life. Somehow, I've never seen that," said Riverhounds coach Justin Evans. "He (Terry Jr.) said he didn't see it clearly. But he went to the linesman, who was in the dark."
The Riverhounds played strongly through most of the match, able to keep possession for long stretches against the top team in USL PRO, which led to some quality chances as Evans implemented a 4-1-4-1 formation.Under pressure from the Pittsburgh attack, Orlando finished the match with 19 fouls. The Riverhounds couldn't take advantage of multiple free kick opportunities.
Orlando took the early lead in the 14th minute as Kevin Molino chipped a shot over Riverhounds goalkeeper Michael Lisch after receiving a through-ball from Dennis Chin on a quick move upfield. The goal was Molino's fifth of the season, which gave the Trinidad & Tobago international a league-leading 14 points.
"That's why Kevin Molino is a dangerous player," said Evans. "We just got out of shape for that one minute. It was a bad giveaway, and when you do that against a team like this, they usually put it away, and they did."
The Riverhounds were able to create some hardship on the Lions defense in the first half, with 6 shots. Under some pressure from the Riverhounds forwards Joseph Ngwenya and Jose Angulo, Orlando was called for nine fouls in the first 45 minutes, as midfielder Anthony Pulis was responsible for three of them.
With the defeat, the Riverhounds (0-3-3) remain at the bottom of the USL PRO standings. Earning another three points with the road win, Orlando City (6-0-2) currently has a three-point edge over the second-place LA Galaxy II at the top of the table.
The Riverhounds will return to action on Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium in the second round of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the New York Red Bull U-23s.