Win over Rhode Island sees Riverhounds move into playoff spot, now unbeaten in ten

Goals from debutant Bertin Jacquesson and Bradley Sample saw the Riverhounds claim a crucial 2-0 victory over Rhode Island FC at Highmark Stadium and move into the playoff spots for the first time since June. 

The game started off even-handed with both sides sizing each other up, but as the game started to progress, it was the visitors who started to get the upper hand, with Eric Dick called into action a few times and were it not for the offside flag bailing the backline out, the home side would have been in major trouble, especially for Dicks' challenge on JJ Williams that would certainly have been a penalty were it not for the flag being raised. The only response the Riverhounds could muster early on was a wild shot from Sample and another effort from Robbie Mertz, but nothing that was troubling the visitors. 

With regular stalwart at the back Pat Hogan missing through suspension and creative flair man Junior Etou away on international duty, the Riverhounds came into the game with a big disadvantage that caused a few tweaks to the starting lineup, and even saw a few changes once the game had kicked off with the backline going through multiple rotations as the game progressed, something that certainly played into the Riverhounds’ slow start at both ends of the field.

And as Bob Lilley pointed out after the game, that wasn't exactly by design, as it was the threat of former Hound Albert Dikwa that forced him to those changes:

"It helps to have Bradley [Sample] playing well, Robbie [Mertz] has shown he can do different things. I don't want to play Jackson [Walti] at right wing-back, but he was asked to do that againsy Indy, he had to make some decisions on the fly and did a good job of it. Today he started in the middle of the backs, but I resorted to [Sean] Suber at the middle of the backs and him on the right side because I think he got caught in too many foot races with Dikwa." 

That slow start was eventually rewarded though and it could not have come from a better source than captain Danny Griffin and debutant Jacquesson. Having been under the cosh for the vast majority of the first half, with less than a minute to go of added time, Griffin played through the perfect ball behind the Rhode Island back line onto the onrushing Frenchman to fire the ball off the crossbar with authority:

I was sat right in line with the pass of this, and it is exactly the sort of ball that the Hounds have been missing all season. For all the pacy players they have at their disposal, they’ve never quite been able to time that sort of pass onto a player in behind. Now it’s only one game, and Jacquesson wasn’t exactly lighting things up beforehand, but it’s still a pretty good sign of what he can bring to the team down the final stretch. 

In a game like this, where Rhode Island showed enough going forward to raise a few eyebrows and leave a few people worried, getting the second goal was always going to be crucial to try and kill the game off, especially with the Hounds' recent record of giving up late goals, but luckily they got that less than five minutes after the restart from a very unlikely source as Sample grabbed his first professional goal with a high looping header that seemed to take an age to drop before falling behind Koke Vegas and into the net:

Chances for the Riverhounds after that, and indeed for both teams, were pretty few and far between, and here are the final stats to prove it, the only shot the visitors managed to get in the second half was a wild effort from Clay Holstad that was blocked and cleared away with ease:

USL Championship Match Center

Stats from the Riverhounds' match against Rhode Island FC

But that’s exactly how Lilley would have wanted it. With the battle won, it was time to focus on the war and make sure things were ship-shape moving forward, and with the staunch backline doing their job, only allowing Rhode Island one decent chance in the whole second half, they were able to see the game out and end the night in a playoff spot. 

Those of you who have been reading my recaps from the past few weeks will have noticed that my feelings about whether this team will make the playoffs or not have been going on something of a rollercoaster, but in my defense, they only reflect exactly how the team have been playing, and boy have they messed with those emotions in recent weeks.

And if I’m being honest, I don’t think that attitude is going to change. I’ve been drawn in to believe in this team too many times this season and they’ve taught me to always have that little doubt in the back of my mind that things can change and that heartbreak is still around the corner. 

Not that I’d ever root for it of course, but with tough games against the likes of the Tampa Bay Rowdies coming up next week, a big six-pointer with Birmingham Legion at the end of the month and Charleston Battery coming to Highmark in October, and with teams around them having games in hand, the home stretch of the 2024 season is not going to be easy, no matter how well they are playing right now, as Lilley himself spoke about afterward:

"I don't think you're in a playoff spot until your points per game average is one of the top eight ... Loudoun have two games in hand, and they're not losing their next two games. To me we're still trying to win the majority of our games, and that head-to-head against Birmingham is going to be super important, that game in Loudoun might be the trickiest game of all.

"Before that Loudoun game we have Tampa on the road and Charleston at home, so there's still a lot on our plates and we have to find a way to play better."