US Open Cup: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Birmingham Legion Preview

The Open Cup comes to Tampa Bay in 2024 as the Rowdies host Birmingham Legion! The guest team will be playing their second game of the campaign after beating USL League One and third tier side Chattanooga Red Wolves. Meanwhile, the hosts from Florida enter this edition in the Round of 32, closer to the final than they have in years. The home team has never made it beyond this round. Frequent rivals in their usual competition, each is on a similar trajectory in the second tier USL Championship. Thin margins are likely to separate these sides as they meet on May 8th at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg!

The Tampa Bay Rowdies sit on 13 points from their eight league matches, while the Legion sit on 11. Oddly enough, this do-or-die game will be followed by a USL Championship meeting between the two at the same location this upcoming weekend. There will be no love lost between Tampa Bay and Birmingham from past encounters as well as that which sits on the horizon. 

Form and injuries will naturally play a large part in determining who comes out on top – just as they always do in sport. Talismanic attacking midfielder Leo Fernandes has not been able to fully regain his fitness after tearing his Achilles tendon ahead of the 2023 season, months after he won the USL Championship Player of the Year award. To fill in, a number of different players have seen their names called to take up important positions in the middle of the park. 

New manager Robbie Neilson has tinkered with the remaining men available to him and seemingly found his formula. Wingbacks on either side have been an important part of chance creation since the days of Neilson’s predecessor, another Scot Neill Collins. With defensive midfielder Lewis Hilton sitting in front of the back line, the two other central midfielders will combine with the wingbacks on either side to create numerical advantages down the wings. When the opposition overcommits to defending those areas, the Rowdies look for space in behind for their two in form attackers, Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga. 

Jennings and Arteaga have combined for 12 goals this season. The job of reining this duo in will fall to AJ Pateron and Phanuel Kavita. A usually stingy defense, Legion will need to maintain good positioning so as not to provide those gaps the Rowdies have learned to exploit. Jake Rufe and Moses Mensah on the outside will probably end up receiving some help from their defensive midfielders in handling this job. 

On the other side of the field, a perennial thorn in Tampa Bay’s side will look to reprise his role for Birmingham. Enzo Martinez has two goals and one assist on the season so far. His one goal in the history of this fixture, however, belies an ability to play the villain against the Rowdies. Fans will remember him as the driving force of many rough tackles on the one side and complaints that lead to cards on the other. Martinez starts in an attacking central midfield role, but has the freedom to roam and likes to pop up in dangerous positions. 

He will be looking to feed the ball to Stefano Pinho first and foremost in good spots to shoot. Another player with stats that don’t stand out in league play, he has four goals to his name in the 2024 Open Cup. The fact that these all came in one match may make it  an outlier; but, he has the ability to be deadly all the same. A cast of speedy and technical wingers who will also look to put Pinho on the spot could force the Rowdies’ defense to stay home a bit more than they’ve had to recently. The prospect of Tyler Pasher or Prosper Kasim galloping into space will give both Aaron Guillen and Jordan Doherty pause when they think of stepping up to help their wingbacks in Green and Gold. Decision-making will be key on all sides. 

These two clubs share a history – one with some animosity, to be sure. Players will step onto the pitch remembering each other from games won and lost in the past. In 2023, it was the Legion who won all three matches, including in the playoffs. Both encounters were 1-1 draws in 2022. This was after the Rowdies knocked Birmingham out of the playoffs in both 2020 and 2021. Expect some fireworks from this one and tune in or buy your ticket to see who comes out on top!