Gameday Essentials

Tampa Bay Rowdies at New York Cosmos

Saturday, October 31, 7 p.m. ET

Official Watch Parties at the Rowdies Den in St. Pete and at the Shamrock Pub in Sarasota.

The match is only available on TV through One World Sports network and to stream through OneWorldSports.com

Scouting the Cosmos

The Cosmos found themselves in a slight downward spiral after their 2-0 loss to the Rowdies on September 5. That all seems to be in the rearview mirror, though, as New York has now won three straight and could still nab the top playoff seed this weekend depending on how Ottawa Fury FC fares in their match.

A win is no easy thing to come by in the Cosmos home venue Shuart Stadium. Tampa Bay’s heritage rival has lost only one home match all year, and that was to the league-leading Fury. Unlike most of their opponents, the Cosmos have learned how to make the most out of one of the worst artificial surfaces in the league.

Despite the Cosmos advantageous position in the combined standings, the club’s pool of forwards has been fairly underwhelming in the later stages of the Fall Season. Former Rowdies player Lucky Mkosana has cooled off after a red hot Spring Season. After an inconsistent start to his Cosmos career, fall signing Gaston Cellerino has displayed some positive signs in recent outings, posting one goal and two assists in three straight starts. Cellerino has a big body to ward off defenders, but he’s also not ashamed to go to ground looking for penalties.

The Cosmos defense has been stout throughout much of the year, allowing the second fewest goals in the league (30). Head Coach Giovanni Savarese has selected the same back line combination in the club’s last four matches and they’ve only allowed two goals during that stretch. Right back seems the only slight vulnerability on the back line. San Antonio found great success on that side of the field last weekend. Hunter Gorskie and Hunter Freeman have switched off in the position over the past month, but neither possess tremendous pace and the Rowdies should look to exploit that.

What to Watch For

Please, no set pieces for the bad guys. The bread and butter for the Cosmos has, in large part, been set pieces strikes. They usually earn quite a few corner kicks and free kicks in dangerous areas thanks to their high-pressure attack. A big factor in the Rowdies win over the Cosmos this year was a disciplined performance that limited many of those set piece opportunities. Marcos Senna is retiring at end of the year, so it would be terrific if the Rowdies could prevent him from notching another brilliant free kick goal.

is retiring at end of the year, so it would be terrific if the Rowdies could prevent him from notching another brilliant free kick goal. Darwin Espinal and Darnell King should be expected to keep their starting jobs on the wings. The tremendous pace that those two players bring to the table could be invaluable to the Rowdies attacking prospects. With Freddy Adu seemingly locked into a central attacking midfield role now, Espinal and King could find themselves the benefactors of many excellent set ups. Espinal has already proven himself unfazed by the Cosmos, as he was the lone bright spot in the spring loss to them and followed that up with a superb goal in the September win.

and should be expected to keep their starting jobs on the wings. The tremendous pace that those two players bring to the table could be invaluable to the Rowdies attacking prospects. With seemingly locked into a central attacking midfield role now, Espinal and King could find themselves the benefactors of many excellent set ups. Espinal has already proven himself unfazed by the Cosmos, as he was the lone bright spot in the spring loss to them and followed that up with a superb goal in the September win. Juan Guerra is likely to miss the regular season finale thanks to a knee injury suffered in the 1-1 draw with Ottawa nearly three weeks ago. Guerra is a great leader on the field, but the silver lining is that Richard Menjivar and Justin Chavez have been outstanding as the two holding midfielders recently. Captain Marcelo Saragosa will also likely be available should Campbell desire a veteran presence in the midfield battle.

is likely to miss the regular season finale thanks to a knee injury suffered in the 1-1 draw with Ottawa nearly three weeks ago. Guerra is a great leader on the field, but the silver lining is that and have been outstanding as the two holding midfielders recently. Captain will also likely be available should Campbell desire a veteran presence in the midfield battle. Last Saturday’s second half substitute appearance for leading scorer Maicon Santos was his first action since going out with a foot injury early in September. Santos had a scary moment against Carolina where he went down with an off the ball injury, but he was able to continue and has been in full training all week. The forward is likely not fit enough to go for a full 90 minutes, but Campbell could be tempted to start him anyway. Santos has proven himself the most consistent finisher in a stable of unreliable forwards. With playoff hopes on the line, putting your most clinical scorer on from the start seems like the best bet for success. Brian Shriver, Corey Hertzog and Georgi Hristov are all decent options when you need to bring on fresh legs and stretch the Cosmos in the second half.

IMAGE, TAMPA BAY Rowdies