Gameday Essentials

Tampa Bay Rowdies ( 14 pts Fall, 33 pts Combined) at Jacksonville Armada FC (11, 23)

Community First Park, Saturday 7:30 p.m.

Watch the match online through ESPN3

The Rowdies are hosting a free watch party at Al Lang for the match & Ralph’s Mob has a limited number of seats remaining on the bus up to Jacksonville.

Scouting the Armada

Nearing the end of its first season, Jacksonville Armada FC currently finds itself dead last in both the Fall Season and combined standings. The slide down the standings came to head this weekend when head coach Guillermo Hoyos became the fourth NASL manager to get the axe this year.

Taking over as interim coach is Eric Dade, who has no professional coaching experience, but led Jacksonville United to a NPSL title in 2011. He’s a well-respected figure in the Jacksonville soccer community and has been working as the Armada’s Director of Player Development.

Unlike when Stuart Campbell took over for the Rowdies in August, Dade is more of a wildcard. He isn’t as familiar with the squad as Campbell was because he wasn’t an assistant coach working with the players daily. He has a few ties to several players who were on his NPSL team in 2011, but he has some quick catching up to do to figure out the bulk of the roster.

One thing Dade did stress in an interview this week was the importance of regrouping defensively. He has faith in the quality of the defenders on the roster and they can get the job done with proper tactical adjustments. Armada supporters are probably more than happy to hear that after seeing Hoyos’ three-man back line concede 38 goals this year, only one off from being tied with Indy, San Antonio and Carolina for most in the league.

The defense has been a hindrance, but the attack has been shockingly poor in the Fall Season. The Armada finished with an impressive 15 goal tally in the 10-game Spring Season, but have followed it up with an abysmal 10 goals through 13 Fall Season fixtures. The club’s combined 25 goals are the fewest of any team in the NASL.

Injuries have kept key players like Alhassane Keita and Marcos Flores out of the lineup for long stretches of the Fall, but the experienced attacking talent on this squad should not be carrying a five-game scoreless streak into this weekend’s encounter.

What to Watch For

Every game the Rowdies play these days has serious playoff implications, but this weekend’s has the added pressure of Coastal Cup survival. The Rowdies need to win outright to even have a slim chance at winning this year’s competition. Fort Lauderdale has a three point lead in the standings and are also five ahead in goal differential. A win by a large margin would help increase Tampa Bay’s odds, but they would need Jacksonville to beat Fort Lauderdale in the season finale for that to even matter.

survival. The Rowdies need to win outright to even have a slim chance at winning this year’s competition. Fort Lauderdale has a three point lead in the standings and are also five ahead in goal differential. A win by a large margin would help increase Tampa Bay’s odds, but they would need Jacksonville to beat Fort Lauderdale in the season finale for that to even matter. As far as the playoff hunt goes, this weekend could be huge. The teams closest to the Rowdies on the table, Edmonton and Fort Lauderdale, have tough matches with New York and Minnesota. If those teams stumble and the Rowdies find a way to win on the road again and pull off a weeknight win against Indy, they can create some much needed breathing room.

The Rowdies will be without Maicon Santos , the man who scored four of the club’s six goals against Jacksonville this year. The Brazilian also remains Tampa Bay’s leading scorer (7), so someone (or multiple people) will need to step up and find their finishing touch on Saturday. The team acquired former FC Tampa Bay attacker Long Tan on loan from Arizona United this week. He’s just finished up an impressive season in USL Pro (14 goals) so he should be fit, but it might be a long shot to see him take the field so soon.

, the man who scored four of the club’s six goals against Jacksonville this year. The Brazilian also remains Tampa Bay’s leading scorer (7), so someone (or multiple people) will need to step up and find their finishing touch on Saturday. The team acquired former FC Tampa Bay attacker Long Tan on loan from Arizona United this week. He’s just finished up an impressive season in USL Pro (14 goals) so he should be fit, but it might be a long shot to see him take the field so soon. The Rowdies finally suppressed the dangerous counter attack of San Antonio this week and the task only gets tougher this weekend with the incredible pace that Jacksonville brings to the table. A repeat of the diligence performance last week will be needed to squash the fleet of foot Armada attack. Consistency in all areas of the game will be what sees the Rowdies through to the playoffs.

IMAGE, PATRICK PATTERSON