(May 9, 2023) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC scored its biggest cup win in more than two decades, going on the road to defeat the New England Revolution of MLS, 1-0, in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 32 tonight at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Connecticut native Danny Griffin scored the match’s only goal in the 44th minute, and the resolute Hounds were able to hold off the MLS Eastern Conference leaders to advance to the Round of 16 on May 23-24.
It was only the second win for the Hounds against an MLS team, with the last coming in 2001 at home against the Colorado Rapids. Despite being heavy underdogs — +550 according to FanDuel — the Hounds shut out their MLS opponents to improve to 2-6 all-time vs. the MLS.
First half
The Hounds signaled from the opening whistle they weren’t going to sit back and defend, as Marc Ybarra stung a low shot on goal and forced a save by Earl Edwards Jr. just 28 seconds into the match.
The Revolution posed plenty of threats of their own, and former U.S. international Jozy Altidore had an early chance in the box blocked away by the Hounds’ Mike DeShields.
The game hit a major flashpoint in the 27th minute when New England’s Latif Blessing, who was previously booked, lunged into a studs-first tackle over the ball against Joe Farrell. A foul was given, but no card was shown to Blessing, keeping both sides at 11 players.
Chances remained even for much of the half, but with two minutes until halftime, Ybarra weighted a low pass perfectly between the Revolution center backs to play Griffin through. The midfielder, in only his second game back with the Hounds after a transfer deal last week, scored with a low shot to put the Hounds in front.
Second half
Neither team made a change at halftime, but Revolution coach Bruce Arena tried to tip the scales in his team’s favor in the 63rd minute by introducing four substitutions — a quartet that included former MLS MVP Carles Gil.
Gil’s creativity paid dividends, and the Revolution looked more dangerous, never more than in the 77th minute when he threaded a diagonal pass through to Altidore, only to have the shot fired over the crossbar.
The Hounds defense swarmed back to defend but did well to alleviate pressure by winning fouls and finding outlets. A pair of 3-on-2 chances in the late moments could have allowed the Hounds to put the game away, but a turnover and a shot wide by Arturo Ordóñez in stoppage time kept the match close until the final whistle.
“It never felt like we were under siege. The last 5-10 minutes got a bit hairy, but the key was we found outlets,” Hounds coach Bob Lilley said. “We were positive with our play going forward, we were positive with the ball, and that gave us the energy and time to get back and defend properly.”
Heineken Man of the Match
Danny Griffin made his mark playing only a short drive from his Wethersfield, Conn. hometown. The durable two-way midfielder not only got the goal, but he connected on 48 of 57 passes (83.3 percent) and won possession five times playing higher up the field.
What’s next?
The Hounds will find out their opponent for the Round of 16 in the draw to be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, after completion of this round’s matches. Their next action will be back at home for a critical USL Championship match, however, as Birmingham Legion FC comes to Highmark Stadium for a 7 p.m. match this Saturday, May 13.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-4-1) — Jahmali Waite; Burke Fahling (Luke Biasi 65’), Mike DeShields, Joe Farrell (Trevor Zwetsloot 56’), Arturo Ordóñez, DZ Harmon; Danny Griffin, Marc Ybarra, Edward Kizza (Albert Dikwa 79’), Robbie Mertz (Kenardo Forbes 65’); Tola Showunmi (Junior Etou 79’)
New England Revolution lineup (4-4-2) — Earl Edwards Jr.; Ben Sweat (Dave Romney 63’), Omar Gonzalez, Christian Makoun, Joshua Bolma (Emmanuel Boateng 63’); Damian Rivera (Brandon Bye 63’), Jack Panayotou, Latif Blessing (Carles Gil 63’), Justin Rennicks (Esmir Bajraktarevic 79’); Jozy Altidore, Giacomo Vrioni
Scoring summary
PIT — Danny Griffin 44’ (Marc Ybarra)
Discipline summary
NE — Latif Blessing 14’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Luke Biasi 81’ (caution – reckless foul)
NE — Jack Panayotou 85’ (caution – reckless foul)
