(April 30, 2022) — In a battle between the top two teams in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference, two first-half goals were enough for Louisville City FC to claim the 2-0 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC tonight at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Wilson Harris and Enoch Mushagalusa scored for Louisville (6-0-3), which remains the only undefeated team in the USL Championship. The Hounds (5-2-1) were unable to threaten the hosts’ goal consistently, as they were outshot 10-6 and put just one shot on goal.
Jahmali Waite made four saves for the Hounds, who played the final 10 minutes down a man after Dane Kelly was sent off after being adjudged to have struck Ian Soler with a high forearm while fighting for the ball.
First half
Louisville made no secret of their intent to pressure the Hounds all over the field, and it led to the home team having 59 percent of possession in the first half.
That pressure led to the opening goal in the 20th minute, as two Hounds defenders struggled to play the ball back to the feet of Waite. Waite’s clearance was intercepted by Louisville, which led to Amadou Dia finding Harris all alone at the right post on the quick transition.
The second goal came in the 39th minute was the result of a connected passing combination by Louisville, which ended with Harris splitting the Hounds’ center backs with a pass to Mushagalusa, whose shot took a fortunate redirection off a Hounds’ boot and beat Waite moving the other direction.
Alex Dixon had the Hounds’ lone shot on goal just before the first Louisville goal, working a passing move with Kenardo Forbes to get a shot from a tight angle that former Hounds goalkeeper Kyle Morton saved out for a corner kick.
Second half
The Hounds had more of the ball in the second half, bringing the overall possession number to a much closer 53/47 Louisville in total. But that didn’t often translate to chances, as Louisville was content to sit deeper with the lead.
Substitutes Kelly, Luis Argudo and Nate Dossantos came into the game to try to give the Hounds more attacking pop, but Kelly was in the second-half’s biggest moment for the wrong reasons.
In the 80th minute, Kelly was whilstled four a foul as he tried to push past defender Ian Soler. Referee Elvis Osmanovic initially displayed a yellow card for the foul, judging that Kelly caught Soler with a high forearm in the fight for the ball. But protests from the Louisville bench and a discussion with his fourth official led Osmanovic to change his decision and issue a red card for serious foul play, which then drew protests from the Hounds players and staff.
Hounds Man of the Match
Danny Griffin’s ability to cover ground was essential on a night where little went the Hounds way. The midfielder finished with a team-best 40 completed passes on 46 attempts (also a team-best 87 percent), and he also won possession for the Hounds a team-leading 10 times.
What’s next?
After consecutive road losses, the Hounds will be happy to have their first back-to-back home games in league play. The first pits the Hounds against Birmingham Legion FC (3-3-2) on Saturday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-2-2-1) — Jahmali Waite; Luke Biasi (Nate Dossantos 46’), Jelani Peters (Marc Ybarra 77’), Arturo Ordóñez, Shane Wiedt (Mekeil Williams 46’), Alex Dixon (Luis Argudo 60’); Dani Rovira (Dane Kelly 60’, sent off 80’), Danny Griffin; Russell Cicerone, Kenardo Forbes; Albert Dikwa
Louisville City FC lineup (3-5-2) — Kyle Morton; Amadou Dia (Ian Soler 77’), Wes Charpie, Sean Totsch; Paolo DelPiccolo (Niall McCabe 77’), Corben Bone (Napo Matsoso 86’), Tyler Gibson, Brian Ownby (Carlos Moguel 86’), Emanuel Perez; Enoch Mushagalusa (Jorge Gonzalez 67’), Wilson Harris
Scoring summary
LOU — Wilson Harris 20’ (Amadou Dia)
LOU — Enoch Mushagalusa 39’ (Wilson Harris)
Discipline summary
PIT — Jelani Peters 30’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
PIT — Arturo Ordóñez 49’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
PIT — Dane Kelly 80’ (sent off – serious foul play)
