Rowdies Get Back To Winning Ways With 2-0 Win At Brooklyn
Recap:
The Tampa Bay Rowdies got back to winning ways after another brilliant first-half display against Brooklyn FC, with the Rowdies beating the Coney Island club 2-0.
The Rowdies had a slower start to the first half for their standards, not generating a good chance until the 28th minute.
That chance in the 28th minute came from Dion Acoff, who slipped past the Brooklyn FC defense, after a ball was chipped over Brooklyn’s high line from Russell Cicerone. Acoff’s shot was parried to the keeper’s left, barely staying in play.
Acoff then crossed the ball back-post, where Cicerone was open. His header was across goal, and opened the scoring for the Rowdies.
Just a couple minutes later, Cicerone pounced on a poor pass by a Brooklyn defender. Cicerone played the ball to MD Myers, who took a touch, and then was tripped in the box.
Myers smashed the ball down the middle, with the keeper diving to his left, giving the Rowdies a two-goal cushion within five minutes.
The Rowdies were on the attack again in the 35th minute, this time a counter-attack. Mattheus played a pass to Louis Perez, who picked out Cicerone from a crossfield pass. Cicerone held the ball up, then quick passed to Mattheus making a diagonal run. Mattheus’ shot was unable to be steered on target, but it was a nice counter-attack from the Rowdies with good ball movement.
After halftime, Brooklyn FC had a chance to cut down on the Tampa Bay lead, with former Rowdie Thomas Vancaeyezeele testing Rowdies goalkeeper Jahmali Waite. Vancaeyezeele’s effort was driven low-shot, forcing a diving save from Waite.
In the 61st minute, Brooklyn FC had their best chance of the night. A long ball was played into the Rowdies’ box from midfield. After deflecting around, the ball fell to CJ Olney, who tried the effort on the volley. While Olney was in open space, his volley went well clear of the crossbar.
Despite Brooklyn getting good chances, they were unable to find the goal that got them back into the game. Tampa Bay left the Empire State victorious after the two first-half goals.
The Bigger Picture:
The Good: The Rowdies are back to their usual winning ways. The boys seemed to have taken the loss last week to heart, and used this game to get back on track.
Russell Cicerone was back in the lineup, which he immediately made an impact.
It was another good game from the defense as well, with Leland Archer starting in his first game for Tampa Bay. He scored the first goal, and made the interception that led to the penalty being earned. He has a fantastic work rate, and the attack seems to flow a lot better with Cicerone in the starting XI.
While Brooklyn had 12 shots, 3 on target, none of them really tested Jahmali Waite. The Vancaeyezeele’s shot was close, but was handled by Waite, and led to nothing. That was another clean sheet for the Rowdies, which was their eighth in the USL Championship.
For reference, Tampa Bay had TWO clean sheets in league play last year.
The Bad: I think years got taken off my life trying to watch the game. The Brooklyn FC camera set up hurt my soul so much, that was by far the worst part of the match for me.
The only thing I felt was “bad”, was how open CJ Olney was on his volley. He was in open space, and was close to scoring for Brooklyn, but struggled with the composure to finish.
Final Thoughts: The Rowdies suffered their first loss of the season, and I had fears it would have a lingering effect on them. They didn’t, and are right back on track.
I think it is important that the team keeps their feet on the ground. While the team has a solid lead in the table, it takes one or two bad games for it to disappear.
Coach Casicato has preached a “one game at a time” mentality, and I really think that the team needs to keep that in the back of their minds.
The Rowdies now have a week off, before hosting Western Conference club Lexington SC, on July 4th.
Keeping Up With The (B)east:
Detroit City FC and Louisville City FC played each other in the USL Cup, meaning the biggest game Rowdies fans need to be aware of was Sporting JAX and Charleston Battery at Hodges Stadium. I think everyone already knows how this game went.
The Battery had no issue finding the back of the net, with the Battery hammering Sporting Jax. They scored 5 against the Duval County club, with the score being 3-0 in the first 20 minutes.
Sporting JAX scored right before the half, and right after halftime, making it a close 3-2. Wan Kuzain scored both of the Jacksonville goals.
Unfortunately for Jax, Charleston proceeded to score two unanswered goals, with the match ending 5-2 in favor of the Battery.
With this win, Charleston now jumped into 2nd place, eight points behind Tampa Bay in first.
The Rowdies have 31 points, with 14 played. Charleston moved into 2nd place, with 23 points. Detroit and Louisville are both at 21 points, with Detroit having the better goal difference. Pittsburgh is in 5th with 20 points, and Indy and Hartford tied at 18 points. Miami FC is in the last playoff spot with 17 points. Rhode Island sits just outside the playoff picture with 15 points in 11 games, the fewest matches played in the USL Championship. Birmingham has 13 points in 13 games, with Loudoun United having 10 points in 12 games. Brooklyn moves back into 12th after the loss against the Rowdies, and Sporting JAX is still without a win, 14 games into the season.
Coming Up/Match Prediction:
The Rowdies have a week off, and then will host Lexington SC on July 4th.
Similar to the Rowdies, Lexington made splashes in the transfer market, signing some of the best talent that the USL has to offer. Players like Aaron Molly from Charleston and Phillip Goodrum from Louisville City FC joined in the offseason.
Despite the signings, Lexington has struggled in the league, being in 11th place in the Western Conference (out of 12), with 15 points.
Aaron Molloy has been the best player for Lexington, having six goal contributions in league play. Molloy has been a thorn in the Rowdies’ side, during the time he has spent in the league at Memphis and Charleston.
The Rowdies’ defense will need to be aware of his ability of long-range shots, which is where he has struck against Tampa Bay in the past.
Lexington has conceded 15 goals in their 12 league games, so I expect the Rowdies to be able to score a goal or two in the matchup.
I am going with a 2-1 win for the Rowdies.
