The Basics

The Tampa Bay Rowdies host Jacksonville, Saturday August 8 7:30 p.m.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers (6pts) lead the Rowdies (6pts) on goal differential and Jacksonville (0pts) is bringing up the rear.

Saturday is Sons of Pirates night for Ralph’s Mob. Get all the details on that and the group’s teddy bear charity drive here.

Grab tickets here or by calling 727-222-2000

Watch the match locally on Great 38 TV or online through ESPN3

Scouting the Armada

The Rowdies new rival to the north is off to a similar slow start in the Fall Season. Jacksonville heads into the weekend with the exact same record as the Rowdies and San Antonio Scorpions (1W-1D-3). As a result the clubs currently occupy the last three spots in the Fall standings. Unlike the Rowdies though, Jacksonville also finds itself at the very bottom of the combined season standings with 16 points from 15 matches.

Defense: The defensive effort has been by far the biggest problem for Jacksonville in its inaugural season. The Armada has allowed a staggering 28 goals in this year, 10 alone in the five Fall Season matches. Just last week the club blew a 3-1 lead in the last 15 minutes by allowing Minnesota to score twice and steal a point. Jacksonville’s back line lacks discipline and gets caught up the field with no support far too often. Right back Shawn Nicklaw will be unavailable for selection after being ejected for his second yellow card last week. Nicklaw has appeared in 12 matches this year but has only started five.

Goalkeeping: The back line deserves blame for the rate of concession, but the goalkeepers on the roster also deserve some ire. Miguel Gallardo has seen the most action with 12 starts and has shown a definitive weakness on handling simple crosses and shots into the box. A complete mind lapse allowed Minnesota to score late last week. Put him under pressure and you will likely end up with some fortuitous tallies. Back up keeper David Sierra on the other has shown some serious positioning errors in his three starts.

The Attack: Fast. That’s really all you need to know about Jacksonville’s offense. They boast a number of players with pace that can challenge most back lines in the NASL, including Jemal Johnson, Alhassane Keita and former FC Tampa Bay player Pascal Millien. All three players are tied for most goals on the team with four goals apiece. Before Thomas Rongen reverted to a defensive midfield diamond last week, the Rowdies looked notably weak on the counter. In fact, Jacksonville burned the Rowdies for a counter attack goal earlier in the Spring Season.

Simulation: Jacksonville also got on the scoresheet against the Rowdies in the Spring through a soft penalty called against Tamika Mkandawire. Some of the Armada attackers have shown a proclivity for going to ground rather easily when a defender invades their space.

What to Watch For

Don’t expect to see the defensive midfield that helped the Rowdies draw in Carolina last week to disappear. Marcelo Saragosa paired well with Juan Guerra to apply pressure in the midfield, suppress counter attack threats, and help out the back line whenever necessary. Jacksonville’s technical and finesse attack might fold when faced with some physicality in the midfield.

Rongen’s preference to get full backs Ben Sweat and Darnell King involved with the attack up the field could expose the Rowdies some difficult defensive situations. Support from the wings and the previously mentioned defensive midfielders will be key to not providing the Armada with many dangerous attacks.

Freddy Adu was an unlikely starter anyway, but his Achilles injury last week in training could knock him out of the gameday roster entirely for the second straight week. It’s unknown how hard he was able to train this week when he did return to the field.

The other Fall addition to the squad, Omar Salgado could very likely see his first action this weekend after receiving his international clearance. The 6’4″ forward would be an excellent option off the bench if Maicon Santos gets gassed in the tail end of the match.

Speaking of forwards that are over 6 feet tall, Saturday may be a perfect opportunity for the Rowdies to get the set piece monkey off their backs. So far this season the club has only converted on two corner kicks. Jacksonville fields one of the shortest lineups in the league. The time is right for Santos, Tam, or Stefan Antonijeivc (Or Gale Agbossoumonde if Antonijevic’s hamstring strain keeps him out again) to use their height advantage and finish off a set piece opportunity.

IMAGE, MATT MAY/TAMPA BAY ROWDIES