A Pierre da Silva-less Orlando City B drew with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds as Richie Laryea returns to the United Soccer League side for the first time since June 7.

(Photo by Daniel Castrillon / New Day Review)

Match Recap

ORLANDO, Fla. – Midfielder Richie Laryea hasn’t played an Orlando City B match since the beginning of June. But in his return for the United Soccer League side, head coach Anthony Pulis said he looked dangerous despite hitting a second-half wall in his first 90-minute match in over a month.

“Richie’s had a good season so far,” Pulis said after the match. “He’s obviously had some minutes with the [Major League Soccer] team, which he deserves, and he needed that game tonight to get 90 minutes, and I thought he looked dangerous at times. Like I say, he was one of the ones that definitely kinda hit a wall a little bit second half and got tired, and you could tell he hadn’t played in a while. But every time we have Richie, it’s definitely a positive for us.”

OCB (5-6-6, 21 points) drew with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (5-7-5, 20 points) 0-0 at Orlando City Stadium in front of 1,042 fans Saturday night.

Both teams had their best scoring chances in the second half even though OCB possessed the ball for 61.3 percent of the time. Just four minutes into the second half, forward Hadji Barry received a cross from right-back Rafael Ramos in the box and headed toward goal. Barry attempted his effort from the left, hitting the right post to keep it a scoreless game.

“I mean, Hadji’s been playing well all season,” Laryea said after the match. “So, had another good game today. He’s unlucky not to walk away with maybe two, even three goals. I think he played very well. And just unlucky on the day. On a different night, he walks out with a hat-trick or something like that.”

In the 90th minute, Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr chipped a shot from distance on goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.’s near-empty net. Kerr’s ball sailed high toward the left corner but ultimately careened off the crossbar.

“We just said it in there,” Pulis said. “It’s two points dropped, really, I feel like, rather than a point gained. Having said that, the chance they have at the end—they probably could’ve nicked it, which would’ve been even harsher on the boys.”

OCB also played without team-leading assister and No. 4 assister in the USL Pierre da Silva. Despite not having the 18-year-old because of a three-game suspension, midfielder Austin Martz said his team was “just as good.”

“I think we were just as good,” Martz said after the match. “Obviously, he’s an important player for us and creates a lot, but I think you could see tonight we still had a majority of possession and created enough opportunities and just didn’t put it in the back of the net, but, obviously, you want a player like that on the field. So, we’ll be excited when he gets back.”

Said Pulis on not having da Silva: “Yeah, we miss Pierre. Pierre’s been a really good player for us this year, and we were really disappointed with the punishment he got given. I thought it was very, very harsh, to be honest with you. But it’s obviously something he’s gonna have to learn from. Having said that, I thought Lewis Neal came in tonight and played on the left-hand side where Pierre’s been playing it and did a really good job, and that’s obviously where Lew’s played the majority of his games throughout his career. So we knew he would slot in seamlessly, and I thought he played well tonight.”

Man of the Match: Hadji Barry

Despite both his shots not being on target, Barry still had the USL Lions’ best chance of the night in the 49th minute. He finished with two shots, created two chances, completed 92.3 percent of his passes and recorded one tackle.

What’s next?

OCB will host their rivals from the west when the Tampa Bay Rowdies travel to Orlando City Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. matchup on Thursday.

Rafael Ramos Leaves Game with Apparent Hamstring Injury

Just eight minutes into the second half, Ramos went down with an apparent hamstring injury. Team athletic trainers attended to him, massaging his right hamstring.

At the moment, Pulis and his staff aren’t sure of the extent of the injury.

Highlights

27′ | Just asking for a near post run… 0-0 | #ORLvPGH pic.twitter.com/ehH7NiI8io — Orlando City B (@OrlandoCityB) July 9, 2017

We said don’t hurt ’em with the megs Hadji! pic.twitter.com/ySsekOyW1Y — Orlando City B (@OrlandoCityB) July 9, 2017

63′ | The Landlord putting his paw down to protect that near post. Yessir! 0-0 | #ORLvPGH pic.twitter.com/t6ZSXQJYa2 — Orlando City B (@OrlandoCityB) July 9, 2017

69′ | Timbo with a glancer off the noggin. Goes agonizingly wide… 0-0 | #ORLvPGH pic.twitter.com/h6ceBo65QY — Orlando City B (@OrlandoCityB) July 9, 2017

NDR Notes

The last time Laryea played for OCB was in a 1-1 draw with the Rochester Rhinos on June 7. Laryea assisted on Barry’s OCB goal.

OCB’s draw on Saturday was their first match without da Silva. The 18-year-old is serving a three-game suspension.

Scoring

Time Team Goal-scorer Assisted by n/a n/a n/a n/a

Statistics and Starting Lineups

Goals Assists Shots Shots on Goal Possession % Orlando City B 0 0 7 1 61.3% Pittsburgh Riverhounds 0 0 9 2 38.7%

Orlando City B starting XI (4-4-1-1): Earl Edwards Jr. (GK); Fernando Timbó, Léo Pereira, Seb Hines, Rafael Ramos; Lewis Neal (C), Tony Rocha, Paul Clowes, Austin Martz; Richie Laryea; Hadji Barry

Pittsburgh Riverhounds starting XI (4-4-2): Keasel Broome (GK); Michael Green, Tobi Adewole, Jamal Jack, Taylor Washington; Kevin Kerr, Jack Thompson, Victor Souto, Danny Earls; Romeo Parkes, Chevaughn Walsh

For more on OCB, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.