Away to Charleston Preview
Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
Kickoff Time: 7:30 pm EST at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, SC
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (46 pts 13W-7D-8L); Charleston Battery (56 pts 16W-8D-5L)
Standings: The Rowdies are 3rd in the East and the Battery are 2nd.
It was a busy week of soccer in Tampa Bay. The Rowdies won their match on Saturday, only a few days after losing away in Alabama. The good news is the downward slide has stopped. Now they have to go on the road again, only a short skip away in South Carolina. Come join RBLR Sports for our last watch party of the regular season at Barriehaus this Saturday at 7pm!
How did we come back against Pittsburgh?
Tampa Bay’s recent game against the Riverhounds can be defined firstly by how it was like so many other Rowdies games this season. The lineup was very similar to what has worked for long stretches this year. While Aaron Guillen was out, he was directly replaced by Zane Bubb. Recent loanee Ryan Spaulding returned to New England, so Blake Bodily was the left wing back.
Danny Crisostomo was replaced as the usual right-sided #8 by another loanee, Ben Bender. But otherwise, it was back to what manager Robbie Neilson had instilled over his first several months in Florida. Bender would be joined by Josh Perez as the left-sided #8, and it was up to those two to combine with Manuel Arteaga and Cal Jennings. The right wing back changed, too.
Despite a flurry of chances for the Green and Gold, it then reverted further to the same pattern fans have seen lately: the Rowdies failing to finish. It was Pittsburgh who scored first, with midfielder Jackson Walti taking advantage of a pocket of space at the top of the box. The Riverhounds would end the match with more shots than their hosts as well.
With familiar patterns leading to familiar outcomes, Neilson moved to switch things up. Leo Fernandes has been slowly returning from an injury he suffered nearly two years ago now. That followed an MVP-caliber year in 2022 and he has already shown flashes of the ability that made him so important to the club back in that season.
Thus did Leo enter the fray at halftime. It took a little while for the rest of the players to get going and the injection of two more subs also helped kickstart more attacking play. However the importance of Fernandes to the Tampa Bay Rowdies became apparent yet again when he was involved in the buildup to the exquisite equalizing goal.
Jennings picked the ball up from deep and carried it forward, something fans are used to. His pass to Leo was immediately flicked on into the box, where Cal had continued his run. He beat his man to the ball, cut it back for Arteaga, and the backheel finish was enough to beat Pittsburgh keeper Eric Dick. The match was finally level and there was time to spare.
Fernandes would then make himself known again. His stoppage time goal put the Rowdies ahead and gave them their first win against a team that wasn’t in last place since July. It can never be overstated what he means to this club. His return galvanizes players on and off the field – and that isn’t even counting his ability to contribute to the scoresheet.
Already a centurion for Tampa Bay, Leo Fernandes will hope to continue his return to more and more playing time each week. Barring any further injuries, his talent and the respect he commands on the field has the ability to impact the club as a whole. The timing could not be better, with playoffs starting in the middle of next month.
How do we stop Charleston’s MVP candidate?
The Battery should be well known to fans of the Green and Gold. They have been a bogey team in years past as well as a whipping boy for the league at times. There is a lot of history between these two clubs – some of it rosy and some of it less so. The Black and Gold are a known quantity and the same is true for their danger men, especially in 2024.
Nick Markanich is the name on everyone’s lips (if they follow the USL, that is). Through 29 games played, the left-footed right winger has 25 goals. If he scores just one more, he will own the single-season record in this league. No one is betting against him to do so. His form has led to a move, which is prearranged to take place at the end of the year, to Spain’s second tier.
The question, of course, is how do you stop a man like Markanich. Ultimately, it’s unlikely you do. Anyone in form this good will find pockets of space and opportunities to rip a shot throughout the game. It’s effectively inevitable. His confidence is sky-high. Plus, if the Rowdies focus all their efforts on stopping him, there are other players Charleston can turn to.
Those principally are Juan Torres on the left and Emilio Ycaza in the middle. The latter, a St. Pete-native and former USF Bull, has found his own ability to affect a game tick up as opponents load up on defending the two deadly wingers around him. All these attacking midfielders will look to get into space, before either shooting or looking for MD Myers up top.
Myers is just one more player who has benefitted from Markanich’s great wing play. His 13 goals on the year would be phenomenal already, were it not for the 25-goal mark set by his teammate. The Battery have multiple different avenues toward goal, multiple different goalscorers, and feel able to put any team under significant pressure.
So we return to our question above: how does one stop them? The most likely way to prevent goal scoring opportunities is not to mark these attackers out of the game. The best way forward is to look behind them. Don’t give their playmakers the space to pick a pass; don’t let their defenders out of their defensive third; don’t let Charleston get the ball to their attacking mids.
At least, do what you can to keep their breakouts to a bare minimum. The Rowdies should be looking to put the Battery defense under pressure when they have possession. Match those players in their starting positions and don’t give them a second to breathe easily. While their defenders are good players, they do not have the control that the players in front of them do.
Jay Chapman has recently stepped into the midfield in place of Aaron Molloy, who appears to be out with an injury. This is good news for Tampa Bay. However, he and Chris Allan are formidable in their own right. That’s why Charleston manager Ben Pirmann brought him in from Memphis. They should also be put under immense pressure when in possession. The fewer touches Markanich and co. have up top, the better the Rowdies will look at the end of this match.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos: 2-2 D
James: 2-1 L
Yurika: 1-1 D
