Rowdies Shutout Champions Pittsburgh In Front of Lively Al Lang Crowd
Recap:
In a buzzing Al Lang Stadium, Tampa Bay Rowdies collected all three points in a dominant showing against the defending USL Championship champions Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
The Rowdies had a slow start, and struggled to find that final pass.
The scoring opened just before halftime, as Marco Micaletto crossed the ball to an unmarked Russell Cicerone, whose beautiful header went sailing past Pittsburgh’s goalie.
While the Rowdies had the momentum going into the second half, Pittsburgh got the first great look on goal after halftime. After a foul committed by Rowdies defender Brian Schaefer outside the eighteen-yard box, Pittsburgh’s Sam Bassett’s free kick effort would be just to the right of Jahmali Waite’s right post.
Despite the momentum shift, Rowdies captain Lewis Hillton found himself with the ball at the six yard box. His effort was saved by the Riverhounds’ keeper Nico Campuzano. The rebound would fall to Rowdie Sebastian Cruz, who’s right footed shot was blocked by a sliding Pittsburgh defender.
With a half hour to play, Max Schneider would get on the end of a Rowdies free kick, which was parried up by Campuzano. Pedro Dolabella would send a rebounded header into the post, which eventually was cleared away by the Pittsburgh defense.
A minute after making his Rowdies debut, MD Myers had his first shot, a header from a perfect cross from Leftback Charlie Ostrem. MD was unable to drive the ball down, sending the ball over the crossbar.
After a nice tackle from Brian Schaefer, Russell Cicerone would take the ball in space, and leave a sublime through ball for MD Myers, who chipped the rushing ‘Hounds keeper, and score on his Green and Gold debut.
In the 85th minute, Louis Perez would find the ball in acres of space at the midfield line, and would test the Pittsburgh keeper, who was positioned very forward up the field. The attempt required a save, and gave the Rowdies a corner kick.
In the added time, an Evan Conway sliding effort off an MD Myers cross deflected off a Pittsburgh defender, and gave the Rowdies their third and final goal of the home opener.
Keeping Up With the (B)east:
As we end week three of the USL Championship season, all Eastern Conference teams have now played.
Loudoun United FC and Miami FC played each other, and ended in a 0-0 draw, with a crowd of less than a thousand supporters in the stands.
Eastern Conference leaders Louisville City FC hosted Rhode Island FC, and won the match 4-2. The game was tied 2-2 at the 70th minute, however, goals from Kyle Adams and Jansen Wilson would keep the league leader’s record perfect at 9/9 points.
Hartford Athletic would take all three points against Brooklyn FC, as goals from Augi Williams and Barry Coffey would give Hartford a two goal lead. Brooklyn FC did pull a goal back in the second half from an impressive Markus Anderson goal, but it would not be enough to end Hartford’s unbeaten run.
Next, Charleston Battery hosted Birmingham Legion FC in a very close game. Birmingham scored two goals back-to-back, having the advantage going into half-time. Charleston Battery scored three unanswered, including a stoppage-time headed goal to claim all three points against the Alabama-based team.
Finally, Indy Eleven would host Detroit City FC, in which Indy won in their USL Championship home opener. Dylan Sing scored a diving header to open the scoring. Darren Smith evened up the game after converting a left-footed shot for Detroit City FC. Undeterred, Bruno Rendón converted a half volley to secure all three points for the hosts.
At the end of Matchweek Three, the table will stay the same until a set of midweek matches. Louisville City FC sits atop the table with a perfect 9 points, Hartford in 2nd place with 7, and Tampa Bay and Charleston are tied with 6 points (Tampa Bay has the better goal difference). Brooklyn, Detroit, Indy, and Pittsburgh all share 3 points. Finally, Birmingham, Loudoun, Miami, Rhode Island, and Jacksonville all share a singular point.
The Bigger Picture:
The Good: Before I get into talking about the players, I want to first say how amazing it was being in a rocking Al Lang Stadium. Credit to both Ralph’s Mob and the Skyway Casuals, because that was the best atmosphere I have experienced at Al Lang in a long time.
Onto the players, and the whole team played well. It was really refreshing to see the team play with non-stop passion, aggression, and cohesion.
Despite a slow start, the attack looked very, very good. There already appears to be great synergy between the team, as compared to last year, who never really looked like they were on the same page.
Russell Cicerone, MD Myers, and Marco Micaletto all played amazing. Cicerone and Myers both got a goal and an assist. I am really excited to see how this attacking duo develops over the span of the season.
I really expect a lot of our goals to look like the second one. Cicerone took the ball in space, forcing defenders to choose in either giving him the space, or crashing in. At the same time, MD Myers was going on a diagonal run, and Cicerone placed a perfect for MD to run on to. MD would one time the shot, and the Rowdies would score.
The defense looked very good as well. Brian Schaefer in specific looked really good too. He won majority of his ground duels, had five clearances, and was not dribbled past once.
Charlie Ostrem looked solid on both sides of the ball. He had a great cross to set up MD Myers’ first shot as a Rowdie, and had two big chances created. He recorded 4 defensive contributions and 3 clearances.
Finally, Jahmali Waite had a solid game. He didn’t face any shots on target, but he did a good job acting as a sweeper keeper and making clearances.
The Bad: To be honest, it feels very nitpicky to complain about anything. The only thing I feel like I can criticize is the slow start. I feel like we struggled to break down the low block. However, the team found their first goal, and Pittsburgh had to abandon their low block in order to chase the game, which played right into our attacking style of football.
Final Thoughts: It was an amazing night. The stadium was electric, and I love how the team played. Obviously, I am a huge supporter of the Rowdies, and it has finally just hit me how stacked this roster truly is.
The team looked really, really good. Players like Russell Cicerone, MD Myers, Jahmali Waite, and Nathan Dossantos are game changers. The team is playing attacking soccer, and I believe that this team will score lots of goals.
Looking Forward/ Match Prediction:
The Rowdies will be home against Loudoun United FC. Loudoun has not had a great start season their season, and I believe that will continue when they come to Al Lang Stadium. It will be a homecoming for two former Rowdies, Ethan Bandre and Pacifique Niyongabire.
I am going for a 2-1 final. I believe the Rowdies will score two goals very similar to the second goal against Pittsburgh. Good through balls with a great one-time finish. On the defensive side, we know what speed Pacifique possesses, and I think he is going to use that speed to give the Rowdies the first goal conceded of the season.
