Match Preview: #TBRvNSH
August 30, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Nashville SC
Saturday, August 31, 7:30 p.m. ET
Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday
Tickets
Tickets for Saturday's match are available by calling (727) 222-2000. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., 60 minutes before kickoff.
How to Watch
The match will be broadcast online on ESPN+ here. International viewers can watch online here.
Records
Tampa Bay: 14-4-7 (W-L-T), 2nd place; 7-2-4 at home
Nashville: 14-6-6 (W-L-T), 3rd place; 8-3-3 on road
Last Meeting
All eyes were on these teams when they first met, with the Rowdies picking up a 1-0 road win on ESPN2. Juan Tejada scored the lone goal of the match in the 34th minute and the Rowdies kept a strong clean sheet.
Rowdies Notes
The Tampa Bay Rowdies close out a short two-game homestand following a 5-0 win over Memphis 901 FC last weekend at Al Lang. It was Tampa Bay's second 5-0 win this month and moved the Rowdies up one spot to second place in the USL Championship's Eastern Conference.
Last weekend's win was Tampa Bay's second 5-0 win this month, matching the scoreline from a victory in Charleston on August 3. Tampa Bay scored five goals without either starting forward scoring in the match, with all five goals coming from midfielders. Kwadwo Poku scored a brace and the Rowdies also got goals from Andrew Tinari, Leo Fernandes and Malik Johnson.
Poku's goals, his first and second of the season, both came from outside the box on his first touch. Entering the match, the Rowdies had only scored three goals from outside the box this season. Poku earned a spot in the USL Championship Team of the Week for his performance. He completed a game-high 92.5 percent of his passes, including 96.9 percent of his passes in the opposition half.
Rowdies goalkeeper John McCarthy made his return to action Saturday night after missing four games with a hamstring injury. McCarthy kept his 10th clean sheet of the season, a new Rowdies single-season record, surpassing Matt Pickens' nine in 2017. He kept the clean sheet without making a single save as the Rowdies limited Memphis to just one shot all night. That shot was not on target.
Malik Johnson had an excellent performance against Memphis, scoring a goal and adding two assists from the right wingback spot, earning a spot in the Team of the Week bench. He now has three goals and five assists in his first season with the Rowdies.
Sebastian Guenzatti leads the Rowdies with 13 goals this season, tying Georgi Hristov's 2017 season for the most goals in a regular season. Hristov scored 15 total in 2017, including two in the postseason.
Injury Report
QUESTIONABLE - Yann Ekra (leg)
QUESTIONABLE - Zach Steinberger (leg)
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