Away to Detroit City Playoff Preview
Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
Kickoff Time: 7:00 pm EST at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, MI
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (50 pts 14W-8D-12L); Detroit City FC (56 pts 15W-11D-8L)
Standings: The Rowdies were 6th in the East and Detroit City were 3rd.
The Rowdies finished the regular season with their best performances in many months. After a 2-2 draw when they could not lose, the team followed it up with a shut out victory. Multiple players have gotten on the scoresheet that hadn’t for ages. It could be the perfect recipe for a club about to start its playoff run, which is good timing. They now go on the road to play an unforgiving Detroit City side in unfriendly territory. Tune in this weekend to watch the boys in action!
How much momentum does this give us?
It’s worth taking a moment now to look back on how things were before this season started. There have been a lot of ups and downs since then, with the latter taking a much more prominent role lately. But, it was a season of high expectations way back in January, February, and March. Now, in November, we can measure how it all went.
Expectations have been met in at least one way: the Rowdies have reached the playoffs. Whether or not this is arrogance, fans expect that in 2024. It will be the manner in which they achieved this position that causes the most problems. After a slow start, the team seemed to find its groove over the summer. Since August, though, nothing has gone to plan.
Tampa Bay was in third place in the East throughout much of the early fall. That was entirely due to results that preceded this period. The Rowdies drew their first two matches in August, defeated The Miami at home (no real feat this season), and secured only one other win until this past week. Every other game (eight) ended in a loss.
It was this stretch that put a team so high in the standings almost out of the playoffs altogether. RBLR Sports and others noted the importance of the Wednesday fixture vs. Hartford. A loss could have ousted the club from the postseason; but, they stood tall. After going down a goal twice, they came back both times, threatening to even take a lead of their own.
The goalscorers were notable, too. Leo Fernandes has missed much of the season due to the injury that kept him out of the whole 2023 campaign. He was able to get this goal, his third of the year, in what would be the first of two consecutive starts. Cal Jennings also broke a dry spell by notching his fourteenth of the year. Confidence boosting appearances abound.
Again at the IMG Soccer Stadium, the Rowdies did that draw one better and defeated the visiting Indy Eleven in style a few days later. Jennings scored again (assisted by Fernandes), while Manuel Arteaga scored his seventeenth goal of the year on a penalty. The game ended 3-0, which did not flatter to deceive. Tampa Bay truly earned a win with their performance.
And so, with the caveat of the later summer-early autumn period, the Rowdies now have a chance to rewrite the narrative of this whole year. This is, of course, dependent on how the postseason goes. If the team goes one and done again this year, suspicions will be confirmed for those fans who feared the worst. If not, there are plenty of historical parallels of “catching fire at the right time” in the USL Championship to draw from.
How tough will it be to play in Michigan?
Standing in the way of any fairytale run is Detroit City. Playing in the suburb of Hamtramck, the club’s fans have developed a reputation around the league. Every player who spoke to us after the win last Saturday night said the same thing: this is a hard place to play. In addition to the fans, there are the factors of turf and smaller dimensions around the field.
Months ago, the turf and the dimensions would’ve made up a lot of the conversation around this matchup. There was much discussion about how the Rowdies did away from home, routinely dropping points on substandard pitches around the USL. Since then, with everything that followed, the thing to highlight is closer to how the players feel than these conditions.
Two months of dropping points will leave anyone down in the dumps. But, that’s not where the season ended. If the club was going into a playoff match on the back of another defeat and getting in by the skin of their teeth, it’s likely there would be a lot less optimism. Remember, though: Cal has scored! Manu has scored! Leo started two in a row and also scored!
There is all the reason in the world to think Tampa Bay can pull off the upset. For much of their shared history, a Rowdies win would not be shocking. With a full cast of players available and even doing well, a good result could even be considered more likely. If the magic keeps up. Key to this little streak for the Green and Gold is one final twist in the starting lineup.
With Fernandes returning from his long-term injury, his two recent starts shuffled an attacking unit that was largely unchanged through 2024. Jennings and Arteaga were most frequently paired with Josh Perez, who would step into the channels on the left side to combine with left wingback Blake Bodily. He and Danny Crisostomo on the right did this extremely well early on.
Leo’s tactical nous and game-winning experience give him the edge when fully fit. Crisostomo went back into the starting lineup last weekend, this time to play as more of a foil to Lewis Hilton. Fernandes was given freedom behind Jennings and Arteaga. This is a position from which he has won the USL MVP award, lest anyone forget.
His ability to impact the attack is invaluable. It will also allow for something the Rowdies have sorely missed: positive interaction with the wingbacks. Bodily earned an assist against Indy, while usual right wingback Pacifique Niyongabire nursed an injury that shouldn’t keep him out of this match. The Rowdies have done well when their fullbacks do well for several years now.
Fitting this system within a smaller field will be difficult. Dealing with the specific challenges of a turf pitch on a colder night in Michigan makes it worse. The good news is that, while it certainly won’t be like playing in Florida, it also doesn’t look like this is the worst weather the state has to offer. Putting the home players in an uncomfortable position would also help take the fans out of the game. Plans are surely being drawn up right now to achieve that goal.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos: 2-1 W
James: 2-2 D, W on Penalties
Yurika: 2-1 W
