TULSA, Okla. – Albert Dikwa had two goals and an assist before Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC had to hold off a furious late rally by FC Tulsa to take a 4-3 victory at ONEOK Field on Saturday afternoon, bringing to an end Tulsa’s six-game home winning streak in all competitions in the first meeting between the two sides.
The hosts had an early chance to take the lead in the fourth minute when Rodrigo da Costa delivered a great cross from the left that was headed just over the crossbar by JJ Williams. Two minutes later the Hounds went ahead instead as Kenardo Forbes – making his 200th regular season appearance in the Championship – delivered a low cross from the right that was turned home first time by Dikwa into the left corner. Dikwa added an assist eight minutes later as he found Alex Dixon in a central position, and Dixon cut to his left past a defender and shot low to the left corner from just outside the penalty area.
Tulsa almost halved the deficit just a minute later when da Costa was unable to turn home Joaquin Rivas’ cross from the left as Pittsburgh’s Arturo Osuna cleared from inside the penalty area, but the hosts were gifted a goal by the Hounds in the 19th minute when Danny Rovira misplayed a cross from the right and the ball eluded goalkeeper Kevin Silva to result in an own goal.
Pittsburgh was denied on an opportunity to restore its two-goal advantage in first-half stoppage time when Dikwa’s close-range finish off another cross by Forbes was saved well by Tulsa goalkeeper Sean Lewis, but two minutes into the second half a pass by Rovira split the Tulsa back line and played in Dane Kelly, who finished calmly for his fourth goal of the season. The hosts again tried to respond immediately, and a cross from the left by Rivas deflected off a defender and was sharply kept out by Silva. The Hounds added a fourth just before the hour-mark, however, as Nathan Dossantos delivered a low cross through the six-yard area that found Dikwa at the back post for his second of the game.
The hosts pushed to get back into the game, and a fine pass forward by Adrian Diz Pe resulted in a chance for Brian Brown that the Jamaican skied over the crossbar with 13 minutes to go. JJ Williams struck for Tulsa in the 80th minute, however, as he poked home after da Costa had ferried on a cutback cross from the left by Brown, and five minutes later da Costa added a goal of his own to make it a one-goal contest with a sharp first-time finish on an angled ball into the left side of the penalty area by Ronald Rodriguez. There would be no late equalizer for the hosts, however, as the Hounds earned their fourth win out of five to start the season.
USLChampionship.com Player of the Match
Albert Dikwa, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – Dikwa had two goals and one assist and notched three shots and two key passes overall while completing 18 of 23 passes in a fine all-around display.
Scoring Summary
PIT – Albert Dikwa (Kenardo Forbes) 6’
PIT – Alex Dixon (Albert Dikwa) 14’
TUL – Kevin Silva (own goal) 19’
PIT – Dane Kelly (Dani Rovira) 47’
PIT – Albert Dikwa (Nathan Dossantos) 59’
TUL – JJ Williams (Rodrigo da Costa) 80’
TUL – Rodrigo da Costa (Ronald Rodriguez) 85’