Rowdies show depth in undefeated streak

Posted Jun 1, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 2, 2010 at 02:33 PM

When they face the Vancouver Whitecaps this Sunday, the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies will be playing their 10th game of the USSF Division II season.

It’s likely that they will also be using a different starting line-up from the one they used in their 2-1 victory against the Puerto Rico Islanders, which would be consistent with the way things have been this season. While four members of the team, captain Julian Valentin, Takuya Yamada, Long Tan and Pascal Millien, have started all nine games, the rest of the starting line-up has been in a constant rotation, showing the depth the squad possesses during its current seven-game undefeated streak. Scott Buete was the latest player to make his first start of the season in Saturday’s game after recovering from a heel injury.

Some of the changes to the starting line-up have been forced on Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish due to injury and suspension, but Dalglish said the movement in and out of the side has been done with a purpose.

“In modern-day soccer, especially in this heat, it’s a squad game,” Dalglish said. “There’s people that have played really well that have not played the next game. It’s just trying to keep everybody fresh.”

That was particularly important in the squad’s recent run of five games in 16 days, and with another seven potential games coming up in June, Dalglish’s rotation should continue to help all the players stay involved while staying fresh.

“I see a lot of squads who have players on the roster who never play. Now why have them? I won’t sign a player for the sake of signing a player. If I sign a player it’s because I genuinely believe they can contribute to the team, otherwise they wouldn’t be here, so if I’ve got players here, I’m going to use them. Some do get more minutes than others, but everyone gets used and that’s the most pleasing thing because if we have success, everyone feels a part of it. I can’t preach that we are a team if everybody’s not involved. To me it was a really important part of it that anybody I brought in was good enough to play a part in our games.”

OPEN CUP: The Rowdies are expecting to find out later today who they will face in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup on June 15. One of their potential opponents is the USL Premier Development League’s Central Florida Kraze, which earned one of the eight PDL places in the draw with a 3-0 victory against Fort Lauderdale on Monday evening.

Should the two be drawn together, the game would likely be played at Showalter Field at Winter Park High School, which could make for a nice road-trip for the Rowdies fans.

DOWN ON THE FARM: After a weekend off, the Rowdies’ farm team the MPS Portland Phoenix earned its third consecutive draw, a 1-1 draw against the New Hampshire Phantoms.

The Phoenix are now 1-0-3 on the season, and sit fourth in the PDL Northeast division four points behind the Albany Highlanders and Long Island Rough Riders.