The Basics

Tampa Bay Rowdies at Carolina RailHawks, Saturday August 1 7:30 p.m.

The RailHawks trail the Rowdies by only one point in the NASL combined points standings

Official watch parties at the Rowdies Den in St. Petersburg and Shamrock Pub in Sarasota

Watch the match online via ESPN3

Scouting the RailHawks

Carolina is off to a solid start in the Fall Season and head into Saturday with a record of 2W-1D-2L. They’re returning home after letting a draw slip away in the fifth minute of stoppage time against league-leading Ottawa Fury FC.

Veteran winger Tiyi Shipalane has been absent for the last two matches due to an ankle injury. Shipalane’s status for this weekend is unknown, but his speed and skill caused havoc trouble for left back Ben Sweat in the 1-1 draw between the two clubs in the Spring Season. He burned Sweat in the opening minutes to provide the assist on Carolina’s goal in that match.

Nacho Novo has had an impressive run in Shipalane’s absence. The experienced forward has three goals and one assist in the club’s two most recent outings, which makes him the league’s second highest scorer at the moment with seven goals.

The RailHawks will be without midfielder Wells Thompson, who was red carded in the club’s draw last weekend. Thompson has appeared in the midfield in 10 of the clubs 15 matches this year, accumulating a little over 700 minutes.

Head Coach Colin Clarke’s squads are typically among the most disciplined and organized in the NASL. With the exception of a few major defensive hiccups from the back line in most matches, the RailHawks have shown to be an excellent team on set pieces and counter attacks. Of the eight goals that the Rowdies have conceded so far in the Fall Season, two have come off corner kicks and five have been from counter attacks. Tampa Bay will need to clean up its act to take care of business in Carolina this weekend.

What to Watch For

Thomas Rongen noted this week that a return to the midfield diamond of two defensively minded midfielders and one attacking player is likely in the cards after the club’s recent struggles. Marcelo Saragosa is fully fit and is a probable partner for Juan Guerra in the midfield. Saragosa has not seen the field since the club’s U.S. Open Cup exit on May 27. The waiting game for Richard Menjivar to return to the gameday roster will continue on as he’s serving as the best man in his sister’s wedding this weekend. The shift to a more conservative midfield should hopefully help out with the vulnerabilities on transition defense.

The status of center back Stefan Antonijevic is questionable after pulling up with a hamstring strain just before halftime last weekend. Gale Agbossoumonde is the presumptive replacement if Antonijevic is unable to suit up. It would be his second start of the year.

Freddy Adu may have impressed in his debut last week, but don’t expect him to make the starting lineup just yet. Rongen has stressed caution about integrating Adu into the squad as he continues to coalesce with his new teammates and work himself into full game fitness.

Recently acquire forward Omar Salgado will also be unavailable until his international clearance comes through.

The offense was lacking for virtually the entire match last weekend. That being said, Georgi Hristov and Maicon Santos are still likely to keep their starting spots. The two players showed well against Carolina in the Spring Season until Santos was forced out with an injury before halftime and Hristov was shown a red card.

The most likely area for change in the attack this weekend is on the wings with Robert Hernandez and Darwin Espinal. Both forwards have started every match in the Fall Season, but have yet to put in a solid 90 minute performance. Although with Espinal, it may have more to do with the ball not being played down his side often enough. With Rongen switching out one of the attacking midfielders with a defensive one, perhaps he throws Martin Nunez back up top on one of the wings.

IMAGE, TAMPA BAY ROWDIES