Away vs. Sacramento Republic Preview
Date: Saturday June 1, 2024
Kickoff Time: 10:00 pm EST at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, CA
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (19 pts 5W-4D-2L); Sacramento Republic (22 pts 5W-6D-0L)
Standings: The Rowdies are 4th in the East and Sacramento are 2nd in the West
Raiko Arozarena held out as long as he could. The former Rowdies player has been earning his paycheck out west in Las Vegas during 2024; but, he would return to St. Pete for the fixture between his current and former club this year. Despite his valiant efforts, Tampa Bay would win the game with a late goal. Can they turn that into momentum now when they go west? Sacramento Republic stand by looking to stay the only undefeated team in the whole league.
Why was this such a close result?
Yet again after an Open Cup game, the Rowdies struggled to put it in the back of the net. This is only a pattern of two matches; but, it does seem to show something. Following an incredible 6-4 win after extra time versus Birmingham Legion, the team never found a breakthrough against them in early May. At least this time they managed to poke one past the opposition keeper?
There is some progress in that. The real trend, such as one can be found, is that midweek matches are a tricky affair. That’s not really news, of course. Add on a layer of emotionality that comes with playing in the Open Cup and you’ve got a recipe for “trap games.” Losing to an MLS side is one thing. Playing as well as the Rowdies did and then losing is another thing entirely.
The Rowdies took their valiant loss against FC Dallas as best they could. It’s not everyday they put up 30 shots on the opposition. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes had the performance of a lifetime and stuffed all but one of those. But, it’s over. The Round of 16 would be the end. They’ll wait a whole year before another edition comes up. Now you want them to play again in three days?!
That’s professional soccer for ya. Another aspect is that sometimes you’ll see players take on their former clubs. That little bit of extra motivation was almost certainly present for Cuban keeper Raiko Arozarena. During his stint in St. Pete, he was given a couple of chances to win the starting spot – and it did not work out. Surely, he had something to prove on Saturday.
This is not to say he was tested mightily. The Rowdies put up another 20 shots versus the Lights. Las Vegas didn’t have to do a ton of last ditch defending, though. The same patterns of play were there and the same players for the most part. Certainly Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga returning to their positions up top was a bonus for the Green and Gold.
The biggest difference on the field would not show up on the attacking side, however. In the final minutes of the 5-0 win against FC Tulsa, only a week beforehand, Forrest Lasso tore his ACL. Unbeknownst to most fans, and this columnist, he had put himself out of the rest of the year.
Jordan Doherty has stepped into the middle of the defensive line and Eddie Munjoma, originally brought in to play as the right wing back, dropped deeper to fill in Doherty’s former spot as the right back. Pacifique Niyongabire has taken up his role as the right wing back again, something seen in the first game of the season that RBLR deemed a Man of the Match performance.
A couple of adjustments are necessary to work out, then. Will Doherty stay in the middle? When will Freddy Kleemann return from his injury and where will he play? Nick Moon and Charlie Dennis are nearly at full fitness themselves, which is to say nothing of Leo Fernandes who came back versus Las Vegas himself. Despite losing Lasso, Tampa Bay has another embarrassment of riches to work through when determining a starting XI. It’s the old “good problem to have.”
How have Sacramento stayed undefeated?
For nearly the entire month of May, the Rowdies played at home. The only away fixture was a 4-1 loss to Memphis, which followed an early – if not controversial – straight red card to the aforementioned Forrest Lasso. That led into five home games in a row, two of which were in the Open Cup. It will likely be the busiest stretch of the season.
We have learned a lot about Tampa Bay playing at home. So far, though, fans haven’t seen the Rowdies take this new-found form on the road much yet. April was the month during which the team created so many chances they put themselves second in the league for that stat. They still only sit behind league leaders Charleston now that the month of May is over for games.
Starting on Saturday, June 1st, the Green and Gold will hit the road for two games in northern California. There will be a home match after that, followed by three more away fixtures. This means the Rowdies will need to play on pitches of different sizes, with different surfaces, and without their faithful Ralph’s Mob and Skyway Casuals cheering them on.
Sacramento is first up on what will likely be a very similar field of play. The fans, though, will not be in any way favoring the Rowdies. Republic’s fan base is big and it is loud. Silencing them will not be low on the priority list. Of course, the crowd can only do so much during a game. For this away fixture, Tampa Bay will need to be dialed in.
The leaders of the Western Conference up until this past weekend, Sacramento are a very good team. This is almost always the case in the USL Championship. But, all the way through the month of May, they have not been beaten in 2024. That, like for the Rowdies, includes two Open Cup games. One of those also came against an MLS side, San Jose to be precise.
Clearly, the Republic know how to grind out a result. They have mostly lined up in a similar formation: three defenders, two wingbacks, three in central midfield, and two up top. Oddly enough, their central defender also missed the last few games; although, his was a head injury. The concussion symptoms Conor Donovan is facing may or may not have subsided by Saturday.
Who starts on the left side has changed from game to game. It should either be the younger American Aldair Sanchez or the Spaniard Damia Viader who look to take up the Blake Bodily role for the home team. On the right is the imperious Jack Gurr. The Englishman may only have three assists so far in 2024; but, he is known throughout the league as a dangerous player.
Another similarity between these teams is faces of the club tearing ACLs. While Forrest Lasso leads from the back, it is usually in midfield that Rodrigo Lopez will be seen dictating play. RoRo, as he is also known, will now be out for 2024 with the same problem, suffered in the same week. Academy signing Rafael Jauregui has stepped into the middle to replace him.
Scotsman Nick Ross will sit in the deeper role while Luis Felipe Fernandes will look to break up anything the Rowdies try to create going forward. The biggest danger, though, is a pair of interesting strikers up top. Last year’s USL League 1 Golden Boot winner and a loanee from Huddersfield Town lead the line now instead of known quantity Russell Cicerone. They have both started the year quite well.
Trevor Amann and Kieran Phillips, formerly of Northern Colorado Hailstorm and Sacramento’s sister club Huddersfield, respectively, have lit things up. A combined eight goals tells part of the story. But, they are not the same player and don’t take up the same positions on the field. Phillips is often listed as a left winger, while Amann can at times be the consummate goal poacher.
If it is Munjoma and Niyongabire manning the right side again, they will need to be wary of the threat posed by Sanchez or Viader combining with Phillips. If the team as a whole gets sucked out wide defending them, Republic’s Nick Ross will look to take the ball and switch it to Gurr and Jauregui on the right. The good news is Rowdies defenders line up against something similar in training most every day.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos: 2-0 W
James: 1-0 L
Yurika: 1-1 D
