Home vs. San Antonio Preview
Date: Saturday March 16, 2024
Kickoff Time: 7:30 pm EST at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (0 pts 0W-0D-0L); San Antonio FC (1 pts 0W-1D-0L)
Standings: The Rowdies are 10th in the East and San Antonio are 6th in the West
Have you missed them, folks? There’s a team that runs here, sometimes runs there, and kicks the ball around. Every so often, depending on conditions, they will even fall on the ground. So go the Tampa Bay Rowdies, as soccer gets going again on the west coast of Florida. Get ready to hear that anthem and, hopefully, watch our boys win their home and season opener!
Are you ready for some (real) football?!
How many months has it even been? It seems like forever since we’ve had a game to preview. Is there a number big enough to cover all that time? Possibly; but, we’ll never know here at RBLR Sports. All we can say for sure is that, this weekend, soccer is back in the Bay.
It has been quite the offseason of indeterminate length for the Rowdies. After getting knocked out of the playoffs at a point universally deemed too early by the fan base, changes occurred from top to bottom of the organization. New players were a given. A new manager was even expected in 2023. But, a new club president? Very interesting. We see you, Ryan Helfrick.
Former player Nicky Law finished the season as the head coach. His experience at the club proved valuable – playoffs notwithstanding – and he will stick around as an assistant to the new manager, Robbie Neilson. We at RBLR Sports were lucky enough to interview the new boss and in this column I won’t rehash what’s already been talked about on this podcast and others.
Suffice it to say, though, that a blank slate is hung up over Al Lang Stadium right now. While Neilson’s resume is certainly impressive, local fans will always be asking what can be done for them – and rightly so. To this end, Messrs. Helfrick, Neilson, and Law have put their heads together to put in place what seems an incredible roster on paper. Of course, as the old saying goes, soccer is not played on paper.
With most preseason games being played behind closed doors, it’s tough to know exactly what formation best suits this team. Preseason is mostly used to get people back to fitness anyway, so making any assumptions based on these past few months would be a fool’s errand. It’s right back to that blank slate. Outside of goalkeeper, lineup predictions could backfire quickly.
In net, fans can most likely expect Jordan Farr to start. Farr, given the #1 shirt on the roster, comes from San Antonio FC, where he won the USL Championship title two years ago and was named the best keeper in the league along the way. He also comes from a club known for being defensively resolute and incredibly tough to break down.
The Rowdies have also been known for this in recent years; although, 2023 may not hold the same position in fans’ minds. Getting back to that, though, will be key for a club who has signed so many new players. If there’s at least a solid foundation from which to build out the back, it will be easier to determine how best to get forward. More players returning in the defense than anywhere else will also help this largely new group.
Forrest Lasso, Jordan Doherty, Freddy Kleemann, and Aaron Guillen will all compete for a spot in the starting XI. These are guys who know the club and should be able to lead by example. How many of them get on the field from the jump will be dependent on the formation, of course, and that is partly impacted by the late loss of Conner Antley. A fixture at right wing back for many seasons, he saw his name called when MLS side DC United needed some depth in defense.
With Antley having left, the one spot on Tampa Bay’s roster that looks thin is possibly at fullback. Whether they operate as the outside defenders in a 4-4-2 or the more attacking contributors in a 3-5-2, this key departure leaves people wondering exactly who will play where at the moment.
This has been an important position the last few years for creating attacks. Nailing it again will likely be paramount. Can Nick Moon step in on the right as a more defensive player? Will Blake Bodily carry some good stats in preseason into the season proper on the left? Will Aaron Guillen be put in a more two-way role than he usually has been? Even Leo Fernandes has played at left wing back before. With the emergence of Charlie Dennis, does he reprise that?
How much do we know about San Antonio yet?
These huge questions surrounding the Rowdies have already been answered in part at San Antonio. While one game into the season is nothing to get carried away with, the basic outline of a framework has been laid by Alen Marcina. A manager who has not been afraid to jettison fan favorites (see Jordan Farr), all the talk this offseason was of plans for a change in playing style.
In their first game against perennial Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers Loudoun United, the changes were rung in. Kevon Lambert, in on loan from Real Salt Lake in MLS, started in central midfield. He is very accustomed to this role from his many years at Phoenix. Lined up with him in midfield were Luke Haakenson and Mohammed Abu. This strong unit could be further augmented with players that stayed on the bench in this game.
At wing back were Brazilian newcomer Lucas Silva on the left and Trinidadian veteran Shannon Gomez on the right. Silva was impactful enough in his first game to actually open the scoring. However, it was a bigger name which put San Antonio ahead well early in the first half: Juan Agudelo scored what seemed to all parties to be the winning goal.
The former USMNT player and Birmingham Legion star moved to Texas in the offseason and has already opened his account with his new club. One could assume a striker getting on the scoresheet in the first game of the season bodes well for a team. Even better, perhaps, is his partner up top, San Antonio’s #10 Jorge Hernandez.
Hernandez has already had something of a winding career. Coming up through the academy system at the LA Galaxy, he tried his luck in Europe when a first team contract never materialized. Belgian club Mechelen’s loss might well be San Antonio’s gain after he notched an assist on both the Silva and Agudelo goals against Loudoun United. If not for a 90th +4 equalizer, this Man of the Match performance could’ve also earned them three points.
Shutting down Agudelo and Hernandez will require more than just marking those two specifically. The Rowdies will likely need to shut down service to them before they can even get themselves into the game – such is their quality. This is where Tampa Bay’s own tactics will need to be sharpest. If pressing was a hallmark of the team before, fans will hope that continues in 2024.
Lambert is one of the league’s best central midfielders. Having strong and willing runners around him to facilitate his play will be the name of the game. If the Rowdies’ own central midfield can interrupt San Antonio’s possession and prevent them from getting into the flow of a transition or attack, it will be all the better for a team trying to make sure they have a handle on things early.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos Rueda: 2-1 Rowdies
James Knowles: 2-1 Rowdies
Yurika Wheeler: 1-0 Rowdies
Special Guest: 1-1 (Shaddock from PuroSAFC)
