The Morning After: Rowdies vs. Portland

Posted Aug 1, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Aug 1, 2010 at 10:28 AM

Some thoughts on the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at Steinbrenner Field.

1. SANCHEZ SHINES: New arrival Ricardo Sanchez expected to be able to hit the ground running on his debut for the Rowdies, and he did just that with a solid opening performance capped by a stunning free kick that gave the fans a first-hand look at the left foot they’d heard about and seen on Youtube.

But aside from the goal, Sanchez’s influence on the team as a whole was frequently evident. Aaron King in particular looked in excellent form, himself scoring a great goal, and part of that can be attributed to Sanchez’s presence, trying to make the incisive final pass and give King the opportunity to add to his goals total, while Long Tan was again full of energy, making good runs and trying to get into dangerous positions.

If this was what Sanchez was able to bring to the team in his first appearance then things are going to be bright for the Rowdies once he is fully integrated into the squad.

2. ROLE REVERSAL: Early in the season, it was the Rowdies who would always seem to be able to find a way to get a late goal and in turn get a positive result. Against Miami and Austin twice, they stole points with goals in the last 10 minutes. Against Carolina and Puerto Rico, they were able to take victories in the same manner.

Now, though, the roles have been reversed, with late goals against the Rowdies turning potential wins into ties and potential ties into defeats. Portland’s goal on Saturday was a pretty scrappy one, but the ball into the penalty area was a good one that needed to be dealt with well. It wasn’t, and as a result the Rowdies took just one point instead of all three.

Part of the problem, it seemed to me, was the inability for the team to control possession as it had been able to earlier in the game. Yes, Portland was going all out to put early pressure on the ball, but instead of continuing to make good, safe passes, the Rowdies kept either sending hopeful balls long down the field or errant passes that gave the Timbers possession and a chance to attack quickly, putting sustained pressure on the back four that eventually told.

3. IS IT ENOUGH?: The four-game home stand that concluded last night was a chance for the Rowdies to pull themselves out of their malaise and to a certain extent they did so losing just once out of the four matches. But It feels as though the team left points on the table that could make a difference between making the playoffs and missing them at the end of the season.

The Rowdies took five points out of a possible twelve, but without the mistakes against Rochester and Portland, that total could easily have been eight and the team could have been much more securely ensconced in the playoff picture than it is, remaining eighth after last night’s contest.

There is still just over a third of the season to go and many more points to be won, but the next three road games, in particular the contests against Puerto Rico and Miami, now loom large. And if at the end of the season the side is on the outside looking in, it may look back at this sequence of games with regret.