The Morning After: Rowdies at Portland

Posted Jun 28, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 28, 2010 at 10:44 AM

Some thoughts on the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers on Sunday night.

1. POOR PERFORMANCE: The scoreline will say the Rowdies only lost 1-0 on Sunday night, but the reality is the score didn’t properly reflect how the Timbers dominated the game, controlling the tempo and pressuring the Rowdies all over the field. The Timbers outshot the Rowdies 21-8, including 14-3 in the first half, had eight corners to the Rowdies’ four and came out as though they were the side with something to prove.

On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s passing was poor, with players often selling their teammates short and putting them in situations where they were unable to move away from pressure. The only real bright spot was the success the side found down the right side through JJ Adjeman-Pamboe and Erik Ustruck, but the center of midfield was overrun, especially in the first half when the bulk of the game was played in the Rowdies half. There seemed to be no-one prepared to try to take the game by the scruff of the neck and get momentum going the Rowdies way, and that’s a big concern.

2. PLAYERS MAKE THE SYSTEM: The Rowdies tried it, but the experiment with using Yendry Diaz as a target man did not come off. It’s hard to blame him, he’s a defender by trade and learning to play as a pivot for the attacking midfield trio takes time to build chemistry. But Diaz wasn’t able to hold up the play and allow his support to arrive, turning the ball over and handing possession back to the Timbers too easily.

Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish wants his side to play a certain way, but when the player that makes your system work isn’t available, the side should be flexible enough to tweak the system to allow its players the best opportunity to succeed. That didn’t happen last night, and it seems over the past three games that teams are figuring out how they can defend the Rowdies effectively. If the Rowdies remain as predictable as they currently are going forward, it’s hard to see how this gets turned around.

3. TURNING IT AROUND: Things couldn’t have gone much better for the Rowdies in the month of May, going undefeated in seven games and building up a cushion in second place of the USL Conference. Now, though, that cushion is gone and the side sits sixth in the playoffs standings after being jumped by the Timbers last night.

I’m expecting that the team will continue to put a brave face on their circumstance, try to point to the fact that they could have gotten points out of all of their games, and that they have the bulk of their home schedule ahead, including five of their six games in July.

The time has come now, though, for the side to turn up the intensity, and turn up the quality of play. Good teams bounce back from runs like this. Can the Rowdies?