The first trip up to Canada of the year for the Tampa Bay Rowdies also saw the club put up their most uninspired performance thus far. Including stoppage time the Rowdies and Ottawa Fury FC ran around for nearly 100 minutes and produced what has to be the tamest 0-0 draw of the short NASL season, an ignominious achievement considering NASL fans have now been treated to 12 draws in 26 matches.

With Maicon Santos and Georgi Hristov unavailable for selection, Head Coach Thomas Rongen decided to revert back to the 4-3-3. Martin Núñez shifted to a central midfield role and newcomer Richard Menjivar made his debut on the left wing. Menjivar – or really any Rowdies midfielder – made no significant impact on the game. As this was his first competitive match with the team after joining camp earlier this week, Menjivar can be forgiven for misplaced or heavy passes. It’s a little let the rest of the squad off the hook for the same.

Shoddy artificial turf aside, this team has been practicing and playing together for months now. There is little excuse for their inability to work the ball up the field on a consistent basis. The Rowdies seem to fall into a funk of passing with little purpose around midfield, followed by an eventual pass back to one of the center backs who decide to boot it in desperation. This is not a formula for a potent attack, and it’s a refrain that seems to fit with past years, not what fans were promised this season.

The only positive for the Rowdies is that the back line and Matt Pickens were up to the task of shutting down an equally ineffectual Ottawa attack. The Fury were equally vexed in the final third and could not test Pickens in any meaningful way. A free kick from Sinisa Ubiparipovic in the 9th minute found its way through a poorly organized wall and onto frame, but was placed in well within Pickens’ comfort zone.

Right back Darnell King made a well-timed tackle on a cross into the box in the 61st minute and Pickens came off his line to squash a breakaway from Brandon Poltronieri in the 89th minute to deny Ottawa on their only other scoring opportunities.

Truthfully, the Rowdies should have been whistled for a penalty in the 78th minute. Defender Stefan Antonijevic stepped to pressure a shooter and the attempted shot clearly stopped dead after making contact with his carelessly outstretched hands. The god of shambolic referees gave an undeserved gift on that sequence, but they ended up squandering it.

As hard it may be to believe, the Rowdies were even less productive than the Fury in the final third. The starting forward line of Corey Hertzog, Darwin Espinal, and Zak Boggs were rarely on the same page. The team truly seemed to miss the upfront target option that Maicon Santos can bring to the field.

The best scoring chance of the match wasn’t even put on frame. In the 79th minute, second half substitute Robert Hernandez chipped a ball perfectly to Hertzog at the top of the box. Hertzog took a touch and then promptly sent his attempt yards over the net. The Rowdies impotency in the attack would be frustrating in any match, but it stings even more here because they failed to even test keeper Romuald Peiser once after he went down after a collision with a teammate in the first half. It should go without saying that you won’t win many matches if you can’t put shots on frame.

The Rowdies will need to rebound in a big way next week. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers are coming into Al Lang after sitting out this week, so they will be rested and hungry to take charge of the Coastal Cup race. The Rowdies can’t count on another opponent giving another limp showing. Compared to Ottawa, the Strikers attack is infinitely more dangerous.

IMAGE, OTTAWA FURY FC