Pre/In/Post Game: Home Opener: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Carolina Railhawks 4/6/13

It's about time it got real! Hoping for a full house. We haven't had a home opener sell out since 2010, and not even close those last two years.

Also think we are going to destroy the failhawks. Have they even had a preseason?

 

We were busy playing Pumas UNAM and Vancouver Whitecaps while you we're throwing bottles and dragging moms into twitter wars . In reality, TB should be looking for 3 points. Carolina is lacking the attacking engine Nick Zimmerman, and the strikers have not shown us too much against teams like UNC and the Battery. The defense is traditionally weak as well, and I don't know what to think of the center mids. I'm hoping for a draw.

 

Well after all that hopefully your GK is at least ok

 

We had a blast at last weeks match. Come on bay area soccer fans,get out and support our Rowdies. I'm looking forward to Saturday night's game.

 

I for one am stoked for this game. Another season, another home opener! COYR!!!

 

I'm being a little negative. I haven't got to see them against even competition, and they looked good against Pumas, but TB is champion for a reason.

 

On paper I think we have our strongest squad yet. We've been through the ringer during the preseason, but I'd rather that than play a bunch of college kids who offer very little competition. If we aren't prepared to stomp ass now, we'll never be.

 

Come on Rowdies fans,lets pack Al Lang Stadium Saturday night!

 

is anyone else worried about the injuries they all ready have to start the season
these are three very important players


Injuries: The absence of key players hindered the team during the preseason, and a couple of injuries will linger into the regular season. F Mike Ambersley, the 2012 points leader (25), saw only 15 minutes while battling a MCL sprain and won't play in the opener.
Carl Cort, the other half of last season's starting forward duo, has a strained calf and is "definitely out for Saturday and probably out for next Saturday" Hill said.
M Keith Savage is back practicing this week after suffering a slight tear of the meniscus in his left knee but will not start Saturday. Hill said Savage could be used as a substitute if needed.

 

I'm concerned about the injuries, but that is why we've signed so much depth.


Next man up, I say.

COYR

 

Agreed. Megadeath.

 

And there you have it. Rowdies controlled a great deal of the match, but have only a single point to show for it. The team showed some good attacking soccer but were foiled by a combination of poor finishing, Carolina's spectacular goalkeeper, and a substandard performance by Luke Mulholland.

The pairing of Hristov and Walker up front shows promise. I like Walker a lot and Hristov showed moments of promise. Cox's speed on the left side of midfield was nice and Frimpong looked a lot more dangerous on the right side than normal.

Mulholland's touch on set pieces was really off tonight. He had one really well place free kick (that didn't have much on it though) that forced an outstanding stop from the keeper, but most of his other corner and free kicks were wasted.

Fontein. He had some nervous moments. Trade the two goalkeepers for each other tonight and the Rowdies when 4-0 easy. Hopefully he just had some jitters.

Overall, not a bad start, but knowing how tough the Railhawks normally are to beat, it feels like we let two points slip from our grasp tonight. Plus side is that all three matches ended in draws tonight. On to the next match.

 

Enjoyed the match, but have to make one comment. Your primary announcer is an idiot. He was completely befuddled as to why Hamilton was sent off for the 2nd yellow and kept blathering on during the replays that he didn't see a red card.

Otherwise, solid match and solid production.

 

To be honest Joe, they are sitting in a press box behind the opposite corner flag from where that took place. I am not sure if they watch the video feed or the action on the pitch, but either way, he might have had difficulty sorting things out on the fly. Jim Henderson is a big improvement over our previous announcer, but there is a reason he is calling a game for less than 300 people on the internet....Howard Cosell or Bob Ley he isn't.

 

I had a good time at the opener. Disappointed at the turnout in attendance however. Literally it was a little over 2,000.

Rowdies played great. They had so many chances, but couldn't finish. Carolina's keeper was standing on his head tonight. Fontein did have his moments thats for sure. He was erratic at times. Luke was indeed off tonight. Sanfilippo, Yamada, Cox and even Frimpong had solid showing. I questioned why Hill subbed Del Do in for Walker because he was invisible, IMO. Hill could have subbed a mid and played a 3-5-2. (I mean with Frankie making beast runs going forward we practically play that anyway, IMO)

My goat of the night was Walker. He looked so out of place and had lead feet with his touches. I think either he was nervous or he isn't used to the other rowdies players yet.

Man, we are so much faster than we were last year. I am very excited to see this team click on all cylinders soon. Too bad it was a scoreless draw. I'll take it however.

COYR

 

He could do something as simple as note when someone gets a yellow, then when pointing out their second yellow he'll understand that's an automatic red instead of spending 5 minutes trying to figure out when the red happened. And yes, he did have access to the replays as he commented on them specifically.

 

Can I ask what you were expecting? I was hoping for a sell out, but an increase of a thousand over last season's opener shouldn't be a total disappointment.

 

Oh, nearly forgot. Any match without Shane Hill is ace in my book

 

I really had no expectation. I just thought being defending champions, home opener and the positive buzz regarding the season more would have showed up. I'm not making unreasonable expectations, I just figured a more positive showing.

 

Agreed. I didn't see him on the sideline. I don't think he even had warm ups.

 

Jim Henderson has covered and worked in soccer for 35+ years, so I can't quite understand why he would be confused about a second yellow.

And, yes, he's still a better listen than previous guys, who either didn't know the actual terms used in soccer (despite having played the game) or just yelled and talked about everything but the game in front of him.

If the team announced 4,232 (a good number for them) but an eyewitness says 2,000, somebody is off. And people don't usually just "show up" because of a combination of various factors that some believe are compelling. Too many teams don't go out and actually SELL tickets.

Keep in mind humans are notoriously bad at estimating crowds, even ones they are part of. It's harder on TV. Even harder online.

As for the game, Luke was a mixed bag. Great ball in on the goal that was waved off. Horrendous free kick late. Some decent corners, some not so. And I didn't see anything from the Bulgarian that made me think I gotta see that guy play.

Lastly, white at home, please.

 

A month ago, I was dreaming of a sellout (of course nobody really knows what the capacity truly is). As gameday drew near and no buzz about tickets being in short supply, I was hoping they would hit the 4,500 mark. The number they hit is nice, but I hope that they can maintain, or even build on it, as the season goes on.

 

Like I always mention, I could be off. But I swear to Muhammad (pbuh) that there was not 4,000 people there.

I love the green, but I prefer white at home too.