Rowdie Reflections: a Strong Foundation
June 27, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
The Tampa Bay Rowdies entered Saturday's matchup at Hartford Athletic coming off just their second loss of the USL Championship season. Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins had confidence his players would have the response required to rebound with a positive result, and the results record over the last two years show he had good reason to feel his players would come away from Hartford with a win like they did. The Rowdies have not dropped back-to-back results since August of 2019.
"I think people sometimes take for granted the team winning," said Collins. "(The players) have done such a good job of that. But the player's response was fantastic, so I'm pleased their performance got rewarded tonight... especially in the circumstances, kind of having a threadbare squad. They stepped up tonight and that's what we're all about. The Tampa Bay Rowdies fans should be proud to have those guys wearing the crest."
Collins' reference to the Rowdies being down to a threadbare squad stems from midfielders Yann Ekra and Laurence Wyke ended up as late scratches on Saturday due to injury. This left Collins with just four outfield players to choose from on his bench. These knocks are on top of the preseason injuries that continue to exclude attackers Lucky Mkosana, Juan Tejada, and Luiz Fernando. And add to that the fact that arguably the Rowdies' most important player in May Steevan Dos Santos missed the entire month of June after suffering a broken bone in his foot against Miami FC.
Even with all the absences, the Rowdies have managed to finish the first two months of the season ahead of the pack in the Atlantic Division and with the most points of any club in the league. It's a position any coach would take a quarter of the way through the season.
"The platform we've given ourselves from a results standpoint is very good," said Collins. "I think there's lots of aspects from a performance point of view we want to work on. Everyone in our squad is a key player. They're all key because they've got different attributes. Adebayo-Smith's got speed. Harris has got speed and he can dribble and drive. Right now, we're missing Steevan, who's a target guy that can post up and bring other people into play. Juan Tejada has energy. Lucky's a goal scorer. Luiz Fernando brings creative opportunities on the left. Credit to the boys these first two months for giving us a platform that when we get these guys back, we can hopefully go from strength to strength."
So Close to History
The one constant for the Rowdies in the attack these first two months has been Sebastian Guenzatti. The Rowdies captain added his seventh goal of 2021 and third game-winner of the season.
Guenzatti has probably the most important quality any forward can have but the one that is sometimes overlooked - consistency. He always puts himself in the right position and deftly puts away chances from the penalty spot. Collins, the one who gave Guenzatti the captain's armband 2019, surely knows his value for the Rowdies.
"I never take him for granted I promise you," Collins said of Guenzatti. "I think he's underrated by people outside of our club. Another goal tonight and he just leads from the front. He's just on the spot, and that's what we've been saying a lot this week. If we get the ball in there, he'll do that."
Guenzatti just missed out on a bit of USL Championship history on Saturday, recording his goal a few minutes after the Charleston Battery's Stavros Zarokostas notched the 10,000th goal in league history. However, Guenzatti is set to make Rowdies history the next time he steps on the field. His next appearance will be his 100th time match for the Green & Gold.
Keeping it Clean
The Rowdies became the first team to hold Hartford scoreless this year. Hartford came in to the match with 16 goals through their first seven matches, the second best scoring rate in the league. Juan Carlos Obregon Jr had a few chances throughout the night, but Hartford's other leading scorer Danny Barerra was completely shut out from getting any whiff at goal.
Evan Louro and Aaron Guillen both had crucial goal line clearances to keep the clean sheet intact. After an errant pass back by Forrest Lasso, Louro had to quickly sprint back toward goal and knock the ball off the line with a sliding effort. When Louro was beat by a chip from Obregon Jr, Guillen was in position to head the ball away before it crossed the line. Guillen had another headed clearance off the line the week before against Pittsburgh.
"Aaron's just always Mr. Consistent for us,' said Collins. "He's someone that could always go under the radar, but an excellent defender. That's the art of a defender, to make those clearances. I have to give big credit to the back three tonight in tough circumstances. When they were asked to make tough challenges, they did it exceptionally well. I'm pleased for them to get a clean sheet tonight."
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 27, 2021
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- Greens Rally against ATL, Win Third in a Row - OKC Energy FC
- Rowdie Reflections: a Strong Foundation - Tampa Bay Rowdies
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- Charlotte Independence Players to Inspire Younger Generations Through New Adopt a Kid's Group Program - Charlotte Independence
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