Riverhounds earn draw in home opener thanks to clutch goal from newcomer

Fans were treated to a postgame light show for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ home opener at Highmark Stadium Friday night, but before everything went dark for the festivities, Burke Fahling produced a laser beam with his right foot.

And it helped the Riverhounds earn a point.

Fahling’s goal, a rocket into the top left corner in the 85th minute, helped the Hounds salvage a 1-1 draw against Miami FC.

The goal was set up off a corner kick by Robbie Mertz. Mertz curled the ball toward the box, and it bounced right to Fahling with space around him. He drilled a perfect strike.

It was a welcome-to-Pittsburgh moment for the former Charleston Battery midfielder in his home debut with the Hounds.

“It was very nice,” Fahling said. “I was fortunate it bounced the way it did, and luckily we had some big guys in the box who were able to move around and get a piece of it. I’d say it’s the best goal I’ve scored as a professional.”

Fahling came in as a substitute in the 67th minute.

“(Riverhounds) coach Bob (Lilley) just said to impact on the game,” Fahling said about coming in as a sub. “Everyone is expected to have an impact on the game. Everyone here is a professional player, and everyone is here for a reason. Whether it’s Langston (Blackstock) or Joe (Farrell) or me … it’s go in and do your job. I thought all the guys that came in did a good job tonight. We just have to make sure we’re pushing and we can get a win next time.”

The goal came after a fairly frustrating first 80-plus minutes for the Hounds (1-0-2).

Miami (0-1-2) got on the board in the 23rd minute when Kyle Murphy scored on his own rebound. Hounds rookie keeper Christian Garner stopped the initial shot, but Murphy outdueled Dani Rovira for the rebound.

“I thought the goal was preventable,” Lilley said. “We didn’t deal with the first ball. It bounced between Arturo (Ordonez) and Nate (Dossantos). Then a guy sneaks between the two of them. That shouldn’t happen. They carve out a shot.

“I thought we’d live to fight another day when Murphy didn’t tag it and the initial save was made. Dani Rovira was first on the ball. He needs to kick it sideways. He tried to dribble out of it when he should’ve kicked the ball out of bounds. That gave Murphy another crack.

“There were multiple mistakes on the play, but good teams fight back from that adversity. It was a game that wasn’t going our way, and we could’ve lost 2-0 or 3-0 if we don’t keep our concentration.”

Garner made his professional debut, filling in for regular starter Jahmali Waite, who is away on international duty with Jamaica.

From there, Miami used physical play and some gamesmanship like time-wasting strategies on goal kicks and throw-ins.

There were times when Miami was content to pack it in and play with 10 men in front of the ball. Eventually, the Hounds started to find ways to get some action in the penalty area and found the equalizer.

“I think we coped well (after the first goal) and didn’t give them a ton of chances,” Lilley said. “It was always going to be a tight game. Miami came in and made it very physical. They didn’t want to give anything away, so it wasn’t real adventurous. There weren’t a lot of holes, so we had to do it with smashmouth football and I thought we did a good job of that in the second half.

“Burke took his chance very well, and it was an important goal to get something out of the game. I felt like it would’ve been very deflating dropping all three points in the home opener.”

The Riverhounds have a short turnaround for their next match. They travel to Tulsa to play at 8 p.m. Tuesday.