Home vs Rhode Island Preview

Date: Saturday March 30, 2024

Kickoff Time: 7:30 pm EST at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL

Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (2 pts 0W-2D-0L); Rhode Island FC (2 pts 0W-2D-0L)

Standings: The Rowdies are 9th in the East and Rhode Island are 11th   

The Rowdies have two draws from two games. Hold on, that can’t be right. I must be looking at the record of Rhode Island. Both clubs have two draws from two games?! Well, at least the Green and Gold are unbeaten in 2024. Can they beat their visitors this weekend and secure the first win of the year? Can Rhode Island get their first win ever? Surely it won’t be 3 for 3… 

Two draws isn’t bad; but, can we get a win please?

There are many factors to consider when looking at a record of two games. The first of these is: that is not an adequate sample size. People far better at stats than I am will tell you that. Another one is: injuries! Yes, that frequent bugaboo for the Rowdies has reared its ugly head early on. One can only hope that means it will dissipate as they go through the rest of the year. 

Freddy Kleemann missed the first game – and only played the first half in this one. Nick Moon has missed both matches so far, along with Charlie Dennis, Zach Herivaux, and Zane Bubb. The defense was important in this game, and getting Kleemann back was as well, even for a 45-minute shift. Of course, it was so important partly because of the lack of attacking chances. 

Putting it together up top seems difficult so far for Tampa Bay (as well as North Carolina and Rhode Island, while we’re at it). Cal Jennings has been lining up as something of a wide forward, with Damian Rivera starting on the other side of Manuel Arteaga. Rivera mostly dropped deeper in Cary, however, to add to the numbers in the middle or to possibly go on a dribble. 

Lewis Hilton and Danny Crisostomo have started both games in the middle of two wing backs, Blake Bodily starting on the left in both as well. The right side has been different from Game 1 to Game 2, due to the lack of Pacifique Niyongabire (a big congratulations to him on getting called up to represent Burundi!). Jordan Doherty started against North Carolina in his place. 

This shift impacted the way the Rowdies wanted to build. Doherty has many strengths; bombing forward with the ball at his feet might not be one many people include in that list. The Irishman moved to the backline when Kleemann was pulled off at halftime, presumably under a minutes restriction because his first half play was very strong. 

To replace him on the right, Joey DeZart stepped in as the wingback. Another more central and defensive player by trade, this didn’t do much to help Tampa Bay’s movement getting forward. This was all under extreme pressure from North Carolina when the Rowdies had the ball, which was still a majority of the time. Last week’s podcast noted that Loudoun United had been able to find seams in between the pressing play from North Carolina. Obviously, that was not exactly the case for the Green and Gold up in Cary. Our #10 did not offer the same threat as Loudoun’s.

North Carolina was playing very aggressively out of possession, chasing down even Jordan Farr when he had the ball. If we couldn’t pass our way through that, as coach Robbie Neilson stated after the game, one possible response would’ve been to look to simply go over their heads. As it turns out, we didn’t see much of that, either. This may be important on Saturday.

How close is Rhode Island to that first win ever?

In Rhode Island’s first game ever, it took a second half stoppage time goal from New Mexico’s Chris Gloster to get them a point. (This is something Rowdies fans might sympathize with right now.) Despite creating good chances, finding the back of the net was difficult. In their second game, however, the Anchors had a better go of it. (Do they have a nickname yet?)

In the first half, a long ball from goalkeeper Koke Vegas was knocked down into the path of Noah Fuson. He found his strike partner, Albert Dikwa, with an incredible pass that served the chance up on a platter. Dikwa would eat, folks. In the second half, right wingback Stephen Turnbull found some help on his side and a cross went in. That was mishandled by a Monterey Bay defender, which again served it up for Dikwa to feast. Yum yum yum, he was likely overheard saying. 

That being said, it was surprise-Western Conference contenders Monterey Bay who had the better of the chances. Beyond the two goals they scored, another two were chalked off for the Californians. From the angles provided, it did appear they were correct offside calls. It’s just important to note that the Blue and Gold have defensive vulnerabilities. 

Having survived a game against North Carolina, who matched the Rowdies positionally all over the field, one would hope that the lessons will be learned in preparation for a potentially similar game plan from their upcoming opponent. Tampa Bay both need to be better in possession and have a true second option if that continues to stall out. 

Plan B, as it were, never materialized away in North Carolina. It’s not as if the Rowdies don’t have speed available up top and on the wings. Dumping the ball in behind the Rhode Island defense should make them think twice about their positioning, as the Seasiders frequently like to compress the field while they press the opponent. (That’s actually not a bad nickname.)

Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga are potent strikers in the USL Championship – and they have been for a while now. Let Rhode Island compress the field and then try to put it over their heads for those two to chase down. Fans know they can do a great deal on their own from good positions. Rivera has also looked a good player with the ball at his feet. Either way, Lasso and Hilton should be looking to stretch Khano Smith’s lads at the back. 

If they can do this, that will help open the gaps in between pressing lines that will allow Tampa Bay to develop some good possession. This game could go a couple of different ways, though. If the same patterns developed as we saw last weekend, the Rowdies could find themselves struggling to put it all together into something coherent going forward. The blueprint presumably already exists to stifle attacks before they get started. The last X factor here is returnees. 

Whether due to injury or the aforementioned international call-ups, the Rowdies were down several players who could contribute to stretching an opponent’s defense just by their presence. With Niyongabire likely to return from Burundi and the unknown potential of injured players coming back, fans of the Green and Gold will be hoping for more of Game 1 than Game 2 when the Pawtuck-it-ins show up at Al Lang. (This is surely the worst attempt so far…) 

Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:

Carlos Rueda: 2-1 W

James Knowles: 2-2

Yurika Wheeler: 2-1 W

Special Guest: 3-0 W Charles R. Gallagher @GallagherLaw