Rowdies vs. Philadelphia: What to watch for

Posted Mar 19, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Mar 19, 2010 at 12:59 PM

A few things to watch for in tonight’s preseason game between the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies and Philadelphia Union

1. How are your legs?: It’s been the hardest week so far of training camp for the Rowdies, with the toughest supposedly coming up next week, as the team continues to focus on its fitness. While the team will have had Thursday night and Friday to rest up before the game, look to see who is able to maintain his sharpness when it comes to game-time and which players look a little more sluggish.

2. Completed squad: With midfielder Mozzi Gyorio and goalkeeper Josh Lambo in camp this week, this will likely be the squad that the Rowdies 23-man squad that begins the season. With that the case, it will be interesting to see which combinations of players Coach Paul Dalglish uses in either half as the players continue to build chemistry with each other and try to earn a place in the starting XI.

3. Local boy returns: You can read the profile of Nick Zimmerman published earlier today here, and it will be good to see the Wharton High grad as he competes for his new club. Union assistant coach John Hackworth, who was the head coach at South Florida from 1998 to 2002, said on Thursday that starting positions were still up for grabs for the Union’s first regular season game against Seattle on Thursday, and a good performance by Zimmerman could earn him a spot in the club’s first line-up.