The Morning After: Rowdies vs. Minnesota

Posted Jul 11, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jul 11, 2010 at 10:44 AM

Some thoughts on the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 loss to the NSC Minnesota Stars on Saturday night.

1. REALITY BITES: Saturday’s loss was a disappointing one for many for the most part because of the lack of a serious threat on the Minnesota goal after Long Tan’s early effort that was well saved by goalkeeper Joe Warren.

But the reality of the situation the Rowdies face right now because of the injuries to the squad is that they have a group of young, inexperienced players in their starting line-up. That shouldn’t be an excuse for the lack of shots on goal, or overall creativity in Saturday’s game. However, when you are playing your first professional season, as players like Pascal Millien, Long Tan, Mozzi Gyorio, Drew Yates and Andre Akpan are, you aren’t necessarily going to get the same sort of performances week-in and week-out that you would from more experienced players like Jeremy Christie, Scott Buete, Erik Ustruck and Gordon Kljestan.

The responsibility that these players now face because of the team’s injuries is a daunting one, but one they will need to meet if the team is to stay in the playoff race.

2. STEPPING UP: With all of that said, the biggest task Coach Paul Dalglish faces this week is restoring the player’s confidence ahead of what is a big game against Puerto Rico and a crucial four-game home stand to close out the month.

We’ve seen how the team can possess the ball, and they did so well for most of the game against Minnesota. What Dalglish needs to find is a player, and preferably more than one, that the team can look to in attack and feel confident in. At times on Saturday, it felt like that player could have been Stanley Nyazamba, but even when he got into positions where he could have fired a shot he either passed or mishit. Too often, though, the team was thinking ‘pass first’ in the final third instead of trying to find a lane for a shot.

Players, especially young ones, need to feel confident in order to shoot. If they don’t, they’ll abdicate responsibility to do so, which results in what we saw on Saturday. Build up the team’s confidence in the short week ahead and hopefully the shots will start flying.

3. SUPER SATTLER: If anyone needed more evidence as to why Daryl Sattler is one of the better goalkeepers in the league then Saturday’s performance was full of examples.

It was unfortunate that he was left stranded by the own goal that sunk the sides chances of a point, because before and after that moment, he was outstanding. There were numerous occasions on Saturday when I felt sure the Stars were going to find the net, only for Sattler to deny them.

A big part of his play on Saturday was possible because of his anticipation. That was no more evident than in the seventh minute, when he closed down Melvin Tarley brilliantly, giving him little angle to find the net, or in the 75th minute when he not only read what Brian Cvilikas was going to try and do on his breakaway, but also had the awareness to stay within his penalty area and avoid what would have been a red card for a handball outside the area.

It’s been a disappointing spell for the Rowdies, who now haven’t won in the league since May, but Sattler has a lot to be proud of for the way he’s kept his side in with a chance in every contest.