It’s Sea of Cyan Night at Weidner Field as the Colorado Springs Switchbacks host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday evening in downtown Colorado Springs. Capelli Sport will be sponsoring a mini soccer ball giveaway, and tickets for the match remain available HERE.
The Switchbacks defeated Loudoun United 1-0 on April 1st in Leesburg, Virginia behind a 5th minute goal from Jamaican striker Romario Williams after some brilliant work by compatriot Deshane Beckford on the right wing that saw Beckford notch his club-leading third assist of the young 2023 season.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Deshane Beckford: “A goal [for me] will come but right now assists are coming – but the goal is pretty near too. It was a very important [win in Loudoun] coming from a loss [at San Antonio]. We needed it and we got it on the road. We always do [well] at home so we are really looking forward to this one [against Pittsburgh on Saturday].”
Switchbacks Head Coach Stephen Hogan: “The game plan came full circle [against Loudoun] for the first five minutes. The way we moved the ball, how we pressed, how we re-pressed, the pass from Matt [Mahoney] to Becky [Deshane Beckford] to Romario [Williams] was literally one or two patterns that we practiced on Friday in Loudoun. After that [goal] we sort of went into some sort of shell and there are a lot of things that we need to make a lot cleaner. And then to finish out the game after the [lightning] break – everyone is saying it about how you professionally finish the game out with 11 or 12 minutes of injury time is phenomenal. That’s a new part of [the players’] mindset in terms of clean sheets – the players are really excited about that. We just need to improve within that ball-work frame through the middle third, and if that happens consistently well I think we’ll be taking a lot of chances.”
Peek at Pittsburgh:
“[The Pittsburgh Riverhounds] is [Head Coach] Bob Lilley,” insisted Stephen Hogan. “It’s the way he sets them up, the way he reads the game, and the way he reads in a game – it’s phenomenal. He’s one of the best and that’s why he’s been doing it for so long. The idea behind them is the structure of their defense and the structure of how they play is so in-sync that it’s actually very good to watch. And then how fast they can hit you on the break. When there are times to move the ball, they try and do that too. They can be structurally sound and hit you quickly on the break and I think that’s where you’ll see them [be] the most effective throughout the year, and that’s what got [Albert] Dikwa his hat trick against Memphis. So that sort of idea is Bob, and his in-game management is phenomenal, so we’re not going to see anything different here.”
“You have to hit [Pittsburgh] on the break in terms of when they come out and that’s part of our game anyway – that’s how we got our goal against Loudoun,” continued Hogan. “In our midfield we need to be able to keep the ball moving forward while keeping possession at times to really stretch [Pittsburgh].”
Vargish’s View:
The Riverhounds will set out to absorb pressure and lull the Switchbacks into the over-confidence that can come with dictating tempo and controlling the possession of a match. The Switchbacks must maintain their structure no matter how long Pittsburgh defend and graft and frustrate Saturday’s hosts.
To imprecisely paraphrase Head Coach Hogan and creatively quote Guy Ritchie: There’s no school like the old school, and Pittsburgh Head Coach Bob Lilley is the headmaster. The Riverhounds haven’t lost this season – they enter Saturday’s match 1-0-3 – and are as defensively regimented a team as the Switchbacks have faced. The win against Loudoun was in many ways perfect preparation for the Switchbacks, as they’ll have to show the same grit, tactical acumen, and attacking threat to earn three points against a technically proficient Riverhounds team that’s looking to maintain their undefeated start to the 2023 season.
