In the late 19th century, the popular, yet illegal bolita lotteries ushered organized crime into the Tampa working class community. Saturday evening, another one-sided numbers game saw its way into the Tampa Bay Area as the hometown Rowdies downed the Carolina RailHawks, 1-0.

Tampa Bay outshot the RailHawks 20-6, including 10-4 inside the box. The Rowdies held the majority of possession and better passing accuracy, and they had 9 corner kicks to four for Carolina. The Rowdies had 31 crosses to just 14 for the visitors.

But more than arithmetic, an innate inertia shrouded the RailHawks’ performance. Yes, it was Carolina’s third game in seven days, the last two in Florida. But Saturday starters Matt Fondy, Omar Bravo, Tiyi Shipalane and Drew Beckie didn’t run out in the XI against Miami FC last Wednesday, and the benched Brian Shriver didn’t start any of the week’s games.

Tampa pounced first and last in the 22nd minute. Fullback Darnell King drove unabated along the right channel and, after penetrating the area, delivered a roller across the face of goal to an unmarked Eric Avila, With right back Kareem Moses gazing the other way, Avila converted the easy putaway to give the Rowdies a 1-0 lead that held until the final whistle.

The RailHawks didn’t muster much threat, save for a couple of half-chances by Fondy in the opening half. That brings up more numbers: after the arrival of Fondy and Bravo ushered in a scoring resurgence, the RailHawks have now gone 317 minutes without a goal. And there’s this sobering stat: in 2015, with a perennially tight player payroll and the ownership upheaval and distraction wrought by the FIFA scandal, the RailHawks earned 26 points through their first 24 games. This year, with a bigger budget, bigger crowds, new owner and new resources, Carolina has just four more points through the same span.

Carolina (8-6-10, 30 pts.) now sits six points behind Minnesota United for the fourth and final NASL playoff berth, but with three other teams now in between, including the Rowdies. In fairness, the RailHawks play five of their final eight matches of the 2016 campaign at WakeMed Soccer Park, beginning next Saturday when they host the stout FC Edmonton. But everything except mere mathematics suggests the RailHawks’ playoff hopes are rapidly evaporating.

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

CAR: Sylvestre, Moses, Daly, Tobin, Black (Marcelin, 67’), Shipalane (Shriver, 76’), Beckie (Watson, 36’), Albadawi, da Luz, Fondy, Bravo

TBR: Pickens, King, Mkandawire, Antonijevic, PC, Vingaard, Chavez, Avila, Cole (Savage, 80’), Hristov, Heinemann (Preciado, 77’)

GOALS

CAR: ---

TBR: Avila, 22’ (King)

CAUTIONS

CAR: ---

TBR: Chavez, 38’

EJECTIONS

CAR: ---

TBR: ---

ATTENDANCE: 6,054