Away vs. Loudoun United Preview
Date: Saturday June 29, 2024
Kickoff Time: 7:30 pm EST at Segra Field in Leesburg, VA
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (28 pts 8W-4D-3L); Loudoun United (19 pts 5W-4D-6L)
Standings: The Rowdies are 4th in the East and Loudoun United are seventh.
Starting a three-game road trip with a win is always positive, even if the game that provided it was somewhat negative. The Rowdies are on a good bounce as they head into Loudoun County to take on United. They will be looking to get another win and close the gap in the standings. Get to Barriehaus this weekend to join RBLR Sports for our second Rowdies watch party of the year!
Are the Rowdies playing down to teams beneath them in the table?
The Rowdies took on Hartford Athletic in Connecticut last Friday to start the round of fixtures in the USL that weekend. Being the only game of the day, it got all the attention. CBS showed this on their Sports Golazo network and made a national broadcast out of it. Perhaps, considering the way things went, they shouldn’t have.
While the Rowdies did win – and a win is a win is a win!!! – it was one of the more drab ways to get three points one could imagine. Tampa Bay were coming off a strong win at home vs. a hated rival in Louisville City. They were playing away from home, on a turf field, and in the rain for the first half at least. Certainly, these are not ideal settings.
It played out in that first half with Hartford getting the better chances. Neither team was really knocking the door down; but, the home side knew their game plan and nearly played it to perfection on multiple occasions. They would mostly bunker and absorb pressure, try to hit one on the counter, and look for the speedy Michee Ngalina to do so.
In the 28th minute, Hartford got a good shot off a corner that wasn’t properly cleared, while in the 30th, they attacked exactly as mentioned above. Rowdies goalkeeper Jordan Farr, never one to hang back in his box, missed the ball entirely and set Athletic up for another good chance. Luckily, he had recovered his position and pushed that one over the bar.
Tampa Bay lacked intensity in moments, especially when going forward. Playing at a steady pace can be a good thing. If the opposition gets too heated or too quick in their movements, it will often lead to a mistouch and allow for a chance. But, there’s something to be said about simply playing at a quicker, steady pace. Hartford were rarely troubled by the visitors.
Where trouble finally did appear for them, it was of their own making. After a cheap yellow card in the ninth minute, Beverly Makangila seemingly forgot he had been cautioned and went into a rash challenge right before halftime. He was sent off and his manager was booked for dissent (which followed Robbie Neilson getting his own yellow card in the second minute of the game).
A man advantage would make things better for the Rowdies, then, right? This is a normal jump to make. It was not the way it worked on the night, though. Hartford were down a man, so now all they had to do was bunker more, wait for the counter more, rely on Ngalina’s speed in space more. Tampa Bay continued to move at the same speed – and with the same results.
In the 64th minute, the moment of the match came and went for Hartford. The Rowdies’ defense was caught out and the attackers in blue had space. Recent pick up Younes Boudadi was already past Aaron Guillen and looked up to see Marcus Epps wide open in the box. His delivery was inch perfect. This was going to be another 1-0 loss on the road for Tampa Bay.
What occurred next was almost unthinkable. Certainly, from this writer’s point of view, a clear goal was in the works. Epps, however, conspired to miss the ball. It went between his legs when he had enough time to bring it down and then take a hit. What was surely good for one expected goal slipped right past him and the Rowdies stayed in the game.
The introduction of Damian Rivera was the brightest spot on the night for the visitors. Rivera, originally from across the state border in Rhode Island, decided he’d seen enough and simply started to run at the host team’s defense. If their passing wasn’t disorganizing Hartford, he would do it on his own with some deft dribbling. He won a penalty and the night was saved.
Will Loudoun rain on our RBLR watch party?
So the Rowdies eked out a 1-0 win on the road, with some luck and some help from a super-sub named Damian. One trend that has definitely emerged that was hinted at in the header for the section above this. Tampa Bay tend to perform worse when their opponents are beneath them in the table. Make it doubly so if they are away from home and playing on turf.
The good news is this week, the Rowdies will be playing Mexico’s Club America at Al Lang Stadium! Wait, that’s not right. That’s probably never happened. Okay, the Rowdies will play Loudoun United this weekend. That game will be in Virginia. Also, the stadium has a turf surface. Alright. This is not good news, in fact.
We return then to the problem of playing down to the opposition. While Loudoun United are within the playoff spots, and only nine points behind Tampa Bay, there is a historical mismatch in this fixture. The club that still acts as a reserve team for DC United in Major League Soccer has only one once in ten meetings. They’ve also only managed one draw.
How many of their roster are academy kids from DCU changes game-by-game. The mentality in approach likely will not, though. This is generally a team one can play against and win, even on an off-day. So how do the Rowdies get properly tuned in for this one? How can they avoid the pitfalls that befell them against Oakland and nearly again against Hartford?
For starters, let’s look back at this past weekend once more. We don’t need to worry about Loudoun using the same gameplan. Rather, the team needs to remember exactly what the result they earned ultimately meant. On a weekend when the three teams above them in the Easter Conference lost, the Rowdies’ three points was a huge boost in the table.
The likelihood that Indy Eleven and Louisville City lose again while Charleston draw is probably not high. (Instead, we can hope they simply all lose, right?) But, every game won is another three points and another step close to those three teams. The gap between first place and wherever Tampa Bay sits has looked unassailable at times this year. We see now it was not.
Times are not desperate, of course. But, these are the exact types of games where the Rowdies actually struggle. Loudoun have the ability to inflict damage on opponents. Speedy attacker Zach Ryan is leading the team for goals again. After scoring ten last season, it’s almost surprising he’s still here and hasn’t moved onto bigger and better things.
While he hasn’t, Tampa Bay will need to keep their head on a swivel defensively to make sure Ryan is always within reach. On the other side, the return of Blake Bodily should improve the team’s offensive output. Having two very attacking wingbacks on the field in Bodily and Pacifique Niyongabire will make Loudoun wary. Putting another W on the board would only build momentum as the Rowdies look to become more consistent and climb the standings.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos: 2-1 W
James: 2-1 W
Yurika: 2-0 W
