That said, the Rowdies do not enjoy going there.

Tampa Bay went into Saturday’s match with a record of 0-2-1 at Highmark Stadium all-time. It’s the site of some of the worst Rowdies performances in recent memory, like a mind-numbing 1-0 loss on a stoppage time goal in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup to miss out on hosting D.C. United in the next round.

The first half of Saturday night’s match did not look like one that would end in the Rowdies getting a result. Playing on artificial turf on a field much smaller than that at Al Lang Stadium, Tampa Bay was not coping well.

The Rowdies were under pressure for most of the half and were unable to string passes together, ultimately opting to just kick the ball deep and try to win second balls. Tampa Bay completed only 52 percent of its pass attempts in the first half and Pittsburgh had more than 60 percent of the possession.

Whatever Head Coach Neill Collins said to the team at halftime seemed to work as the Rowdies completed 74 percent of their passes after halftime and had 54 percent possession. Ultimately, the Rowdies escaped with a well-earned point and maybe a little more confidence for their next visit to the banks of the Monongahela.

3. Heavily penalized

After opening the season with nine clean sheets in 13 matches, the Rowdies have now conceded a goal in each of their last six matches. Dig a little deeper though and it appears the defense is playing just as well as it did in the first few months of the season.

In the last six games, three potential clean sheets have been broken up by a penalty kick awarded to the opposition and a fourth was broken by a free kick in the 88th minute. Take away those four dead ball situations and the Rowdies have only conceded in two of the last six matches. Ottawa’s lone goal came from a bad defensive mistake from Pape Diakite that shouldn’t happen again, so scrape that one from the record and the Rowdies have only really been beaten defensively in one of those matches, albeit a 3-1 loss in which North Carolina cut the Rowdies apart a little bit.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work like that and the Rowdies will have to clean up their actions in the 18-yard box to try and put an end to the penalty kicks. Tarek Morad, Malik Johnson and Pape Diakite have all been whistled for the fouls to concede the penalties, so it’s not just one repeat offender.

It could also be argued that none of the three decisions were clear cut penalties, so maybe a little luck would help the Rowdies as well.