Home vs. Hartford Athletic Preview

Date: Wednesday October 23, 2024

Kickoff Time: 7:30 pm EST at IMG Academy Soccer Stadium in Bradenton, FL 

Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (46 pts 13W-7D-12L); Hartford Athletic (43 pts 12W-7D-13L)

Standings: The Rowdies are 6th in the East and Hartford are 9th. 

With one week and two games left to go, the Rowdies have left themselves in dire straits. After losing four matches in a row, they are out of the home-playoff positions and dangle by a thread above their opponents tonight. Three points in unfamiliar surroundings are the goal. Any result they can get is vital to stave off the threat posed by Hartford. If you have the ability and get one of the tickets available, make sure you get to Bradenton to cheer the team on from the stands!

We lost a home game in North Carolina?.  

Following the two most recent hurricanes, Tampa Bay has had a lot of issues. One of the least important among those has been at Al Lang Stadium. Rendered unusable, the club has sought another venue for three home games left to be played, including the one last Saturday. It was finally decided that the home team would host from the away team’s usual stadium. 

So it was that in Cary, North Carolina, the Rowdies “hosted” NCFC for what was supposed to be their second-to-last game of the season. With results continually going against them recently, it should come as no surprise that Tampa Bay wasn’t able to muster much. The best chance for the Green and Gold was a cross from Pacifique Niyongabire to Cal Jennings. It sailed wide. 

With the Rowdies not threatening to score, North Carolina decided they would take the lead – literally. Two goals came from similar circumstances, long balls down the middle that were not dealt with by the Floridian defense. The second goal in particular was farcical, as goalkeeper Jordan Farr came out of his box to whiff a clearance. 

This seems harsh language, and it should be noted, of course, that Farr was not the only one at fault. The real issue is how many goals this season have been conceded in similar fashion. It was emblematic of a team that has seemingly run out of steam as October ends. This is not to say they are not fit. No, the Rowdies have lost steam in every other sense on the field. 

What are those? The attacking sense is one. The defending sense is another. Neither attacking with verve and speed, nor defending with precision and passion, it often looks like Tampa Bay expects to come up second best. In duals on the field and when the opposition scores, the Green and Gold don’t have the same fight that fans have seen even earlier this year. 

This is not to say there hasn’t been hardship for the team. Injuries have certainly taken their toll, which is not to mention the difficulty of dealing with two massive storms threatening life and limb. However, it still must be said that the Rowdies from May, June, and July have disappeared. 

Since August began, Tampa Bay have won two games, a spell of 12 overall. Other than those two wins, they have earned only two further points. Effectively all of the ground they made up earlier in the year is what they have to hang onto for a playoff position now. Momentum has gone. Chances are down. Scoring is, too, while blunders have become the object of ever more scrutiny. The summary of one game for a whole season – or at least the last third of it. 

Now we’re moving to IMG Academy?

Following the away loss in a “home game,” the Rowdies have found a temporary stadium. The IMG Academy Soccer Stadium will host the club for the first time in a real competition. The club has played here before, only in the past for preseason friendlies. It has all the accommodations necessary as well as a field that was not destroyed by Helene or Milton. 

This offers fans a little chance at history. A cozy venue with limited seating sounds nice in theory. There will be the unfortunate problem of excluding many fans who would otherwise attend because of the size. It is also a particularly far drive for many people, especially on a weeknight. The stands that exist should be packed, though, because it obviously won’t take as much. 

What product they see on the field is another question. Hartford are on the opposite end of the form spectrum from the Rowdies. They have only lost twice since August began. Their position just outside the playoffs gives them something to play for, while Tampa Bay has had trouble finding their motivation of late. The point totals are too close for comfort. 

With Hartford on 43, they sit ninth in the East. A win would give them the same number of points as the Rowdies; although, they would still stay behind the club on goal differential. But, they would leapfrog both Pittsburgh and North Carolina into a playoff spot. It is all to play for on Wednesday. The away team knows what they have to do. 

The away fixture was back in June, a 1-0 win for Tampa Bay. The Green and Gold took all three points back with them following a late penalty, dispatched by Manuel Arteaga. Damian Rivera won the foul in the box, doing his now trademark suber-sub job and running right at a tired defense. Other than this, Hartford had done well to stay in the game. 

Threatening to score on multiple occasions, it was actually a blunder of a miss that kept the home team off the scoresheet in Connecticut. Since then, they have begun to use a new striker up top, and Babacar Dieng has repaid the faith of his manager Brendan Burke. He has ten goals on the season, the vast majority coming after summer. 

Hartford will be coming to town full of confidence. Their self-belief is earned. They stand on the cusp of an unlikely playoff position. All they have to do is the same thing they’ve been doing – against a team that can’t buy a win. If the Rowdies can get out of this with the win that will secure a playoff position for themselves, it’ll be one of the more miraculous results this year. 

Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:

Carlos: 2-0 W 

James: 1-1 D 

Yurika: 2-1 W